Thirst
by jazzywazzy08
Summary: Not many are aware of the addictive qualities of a witch's blood. Klaus is, and he knows just what it could do to Stefan Salvatore in his ripper state. However, when his plan to drive Stefan to drain Bonnie Bennett dry and thereby eliminating his greatest foe and pushing Stefan over the edge backfires, no one is prepared of the consequences.
1. Stage One: Exposure

**Title:** Thirst

 **Rating:** M

 **Genre:** AU/AH/Supernatural/Horror

 **Pairing(s):** Bonnie/Stefan

 **Summary:** Not many are aware of the addictive qualities of a witch's blood. Klaus is, and he knows just what it could do to Stefan Salvatore in his ripper state. However, when his plan to drive Stefan to drain Bonnie Bennett dry and thereby eliminating his greatest foe and pushing Stefan over the edge backfires, no one is prepared of the consequences.

 **Warnings:** Language, Character Death, Violence, Torture, Non-Canon, Sexual Content, Dub-con, etc.

 **Stefonnie Appreciation Week Theme:** Day Two (Going Dark)

 _ **Author's Note: Back again after as break. This is a repost of a fromer contribution to Stefonnie week. This is set right after 3x02 with some rather obvious changes. I will be touching on what is going on in Mystic Falls in the next part but this part mostly stays in Chicago. Minor edits from the original. Not anything major. For news on other fics see end notes on last part. Thanks for reading.**_

 **Stage One** ∥ **Exposure**

" _All sin tends to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is what is called damnation."_

 _~W.H. Auden_

Stefan Salvatore had no idea why their first stop after leaving Tennessee was a hospital in Chicago but he was sure that Klaus would let him in on his motives soon enough. He could still remember the hope in his brother's eyes even as Stefan had warned him to stay away, but there was no real hope left, not for him. Not anymore.

In fact his resolve was strengthened by the day to stay away. With each person he was forced to kill and each drop of human blood that he ingested, he was losing more and more of himself and he welcomed it. He welcomed it because in doing so he was allowing his brother to live, and he was allowing Elena to go on with her life without being threatened. He did it because it was easier to give in to blood and the numbness than it was to fight against Klaus any longer.

He followed silently as Klaus led him through the hospital halls, the smell of bleach and death burning his nose. The florescent lights flickered and he felt as if he was in some kind of horror movie and in a way it was the truth. Klaus was the villain, the monster under the bed, the killer with the axe just a step behind him. And he was the victim, except he wasn't running, or fighting, or screaming. He was just looking in the killer's eyes and waiting for something, perhaps death or perhaps an escape or perhaps both in one.

"You know," Klaus said conversationally, as he rolled up the sleeves to his white long sleeved t-shirt, "It's amazing how people can be connected to one another. The degrees of separation and all that."

Stefan stayed stiff and impassive as he normally did whenever Klaus spoke. It irritated Klaus being ignored Stefan knew and that was part of the reason that he did it, the other part of the reason was that Stefan had nothing to say. He had lost his voice at the same time he had lost his fight. Even thinking of his brother or Elena didn't bring either back, though he was still acting in ways to keep them both safe.

"I was looking up an old friend," Klaus continued, regaining Stefan's attention, "A witch by the name of Gloria, owns a bar on the northwest side, you'd like her I think. Powerful, beautiful, good taste in music. But I am getting away from myself. Anyway, I contacted her because as you know I've been having a little trouble creating my hybrids. And then there was also the matter of a certain witch that happens to have ties to you and your brother that I had my worries about as well. While I had been told by a few informants of mine that Miss Bennett is currently on holiday with her father's family, I could not seem to get a location. But I was sure that your brother being your brother would know exactly where to find the Bennett witch and as I was also sure that he would not take you being gone laying down I just knew that he would eventually make the phone call to ask for the witch's assistance. It wouldn't take much would it? To get her to agree? All he would have to do was mention her dead best friend that she couldn't save from me, you know play on her guilt just a little bit. People do the craziest things out of guilt, and you already know that of course. But one phone call and little Bonnie sweetheart would be riding in to save the day. And well I can't have that."

Stefan frowned as they stopped in front of a hospital room, labeled "Doe, Jane", but he already knew who would be inside. The only question would be how bad the damage was. He swallowed and for the first time in months he allowed himself to feel. Anger was the most paramount, then guilt, and then sorrow. "What did you do to her?" He demanded.

"Now, Stefan," Klaus grinned, "You've been ignoring me all of this time. The least that you could do is let me finish my tale."

Though, he was itching for a fight and wanted to strangle the hybrid, Stefan gave a stiff nod. It wouldn't do well to provoke the man, especially before he was able to get any real information about Bonnie's condition.

"I couldn't have the witch interfering you understand," Klaus continued, as if Stefan's face hadn't taken on a lethal scowl, "Though, she allows you and your brother to treat her like a servant she's a powerhouse in all truth. She almost killed me once, and I am willing to bet she could find a way to at the very least incapacitate me now. Even being what I am now, I am man enough to admit that she is, or rather was a threat to me. But like I said, I couldn't pinpoint her location. Which was why I was going to have Gloria perform a little locator spell, but as it turned out she didn't need one. You see, Bonnie's family, apparently lives here in Chicago, at least on her father's side. And you know that bar I mentioned before, it would seem she has been working there all summer. Who would have guessed? She was right there under my nose."

Stefan had heard enough. In the blink of an eye he had Klaus pinned to the hospital room door, his arm pressing against the hybrid throat. "What did you do to her?" He demanded, once again.

If any one of them deserved to live it was Bonnie. She had given more of herself for the people that she loved than even Stefan and the thought of her dying was unacceptable.

"I didn't do anything myself," Klaus sighed, "The thought occurred to me but it just seemed like such a waste. All that beauty, all that power. She could be _great_ , if I took her under my wing. But we both know that she is much too stubborn for that. However, she is isolated at the moment and killing her would be easy. Too easy, and so I've thought of something much more fun."

Klaus pushed Stefan until he loosened his grip. "I swear to God if you she isn't alive," he said, "I will kill you myself."

"As if you could find a way," Klaus said, unimpressed. He gave Stefan a warning look and the vampire let go of him completely. "I had hoped that you had learned something over the summer," he said, "That you had gotten a bit of your merciless lethal streak back. But you're still soft, and you still have attachments where there should be none. Which is why I still feel the need to play a few little games with you." He reached for the door knob of the hospital room door and turned it. "Let's see what's behind door number one, shall we?" He said, smiling winningly.

Stefan's hands clenched into fists as he followed Klaus inside of the room. His eyes immediately found the hospital bed and his stomach dropped. Just as he had expected Bonnie Bennett, lay atop the white sheets. She was unconscious, still, and she looked ever so small. He was certain that she had loss weight. And his anger only rose when he saw that there was an IV line hooked up to her arm that was draining the blood from her body and into a blood bag.

Stefan flinched as the door to the room shut behind him, and a moment later he felt Klaus' hand on his shoulder. "As I was saying," Klaus said, his tone nonchalant, "I had thought about killing her but there wasn't really any fun in that. And I had expected for a while that you weren't all in with me. That you were still too soft around the edges and so I thought why not use her to break you instead?"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Stefan asked, scowling.

"It's simple really," Klaus said, "The messiest part is done. All I had to do was compel one of the patron's at Gloria's who had a few too many to run into the little witch's car. The cops didn't ask any questions, not that it would have mattered if they had. But poor blokes that have the miss fortune of drinking too much sauce get in accidents all the time. The accident wasn't fatal, but it did some pretty bad damage. And now she's here, has been for three days now, under an assumed name. Her family thinks she went back to visit Mystic Falls for a few days, so no one has come to check on her. A few text messages to her dear old daddy to check in with him seemed to do the trick on that front. Her friends haven't checked on her at all I'm afraid. Not that I'm surprised by that. You lot are terrible at the whole friendship bit." He smirked wider as Stefan grimaced. "But I digress. She has been here getting just enough treatment to ensure her survival but not quite as much as she so desperately needs and in that time I've been farming her for blood. All so that I can make a bargain with you."

"What kind of bargain?" Stefan asked.

"It would only take a little of your blood and the witch would be good as new and I am willing to let you save her," Klaus smiled, "On one condition."

Stefan's eyes stayed on Bonnie's form on the hospital bed. "I'm listening," he said.

"Once you save her you will have to sustain yourself only on the blood that I have taken from her these last three days," Klaus said, "Nothing else from any other human or animal."

"That's it?" Stefan asked, turning to Klaus finally his brows furrowed in confusion.

"That's it," Klaus nodded, "However, I must warn you that for vampires a witch's blood can be extremely addictive. The stronger our connection to said witch, the more…. _potent_ the effects tend to be. And for someone like you….a ripper….who already has issues controlling his consumption...well…I'm assuming you get the picture, love."

"So basically you're saying I can save her now," Stefan said, "But you're going to get me hooked to her blood and in all likelihood I'll come after her and kill her myself later."

"Unless of course," Klaus pointed out, inclining his head, "You can manage to control yourself. But we both know the probability of that happening, don't we?"

Even in the state that he was in the thought of killing Bonnie made him sick. He had never hurt Bonnie, never would dream of hurting her. He had hurt his brother, and had even come dangerously close to hurting Elena more than once, but Bonnie, he had never felt anything for her other than a need to keep her safe. It had always been him alongside Elena that protested her using her powers to the point that it would be fatal. He had saved her more than once and his instinct was to save her now, even if he would risk killing her himself later.

"What do you say Stefan?" Klaus pressed, "Will you watch the witch die now, or will you kill her later?" Either way Klaus knew that the guilt would eat Stefan up inside, he knew that this would likely be the thing that broke him down and caused him to give himself over to the ripper side of himself completely. It was only a matter of time.

Ignoring him Stefan moved forward and gently detached the IV from Bonnie's arm. He then bit into his own wrist. "We have a deal," Stefan said, "But you're underestimating me and how much I want to keep her alive."

Klaus watched as Stefan gently pried Bonnie's mouth open and pressed his wrist to her lips. He had not seen Stefan act that gently with anyone since just before they had left Mystic Falls for the summer. Still he laughed as Stefan ran his fingers down the witch's throat in order to help her swallow. He was playing right into his hands, he had no real choice in the matter. "Maybe so," Klaus said, "But _you_ are underestimating the pull that a witch's blood can have."

 **:::**

Bonnie Bennett walked around slowly after having found herself in the spare bedroom of her aunt's house, where she had been staying all summer, upon waking a few hours before. The last thing that she remembered was leaving Gloria's after her shift, but according to the date on her cell phone that had been days ago. Her aunt, Clara claimed that she had been in Mystic Falls visiting her friends for a few days, and that she had fallen asleep in the car on the way home and her friend had carried her up to the doorstep.

None of it made sense. She could have sworn she had been in a car accident and had possibly been in the hospital. However, her car was sitting in her aunt's driveway without a scratch on in and she seemed to be in better health than when she last remembered being there.

But something was off, a few things actually. She suspected that something supernatural was involved. Her mind kept straying to Stefan the same way that it had in the days after he had saved her from Damon back when they had first came to town and she had Stefan's blood in her system. And Stefan fit the description of the friend that her aunt claimed had brought her home and so she knew that her answers would lie with him.

However, she didn't know how to find him. Not with him basically being held hostage by Klaus. So as much as she wanted answers she knew that she wasn't going to get any.

Still she kept getting flashes of things. A white room. Some kind of machine beeping. Florescent lights flashing. The sound of voices talking. But there was nothing that she could put together. Nothing that made sense.

And so she simply paced the length of the room slowly, trying like hell to concentrate enough to make something, anything come into her mind that would explain her whereabouts for the last four days.

Sighing when nothing came to her, Bonnie jumped when her phone rang. She picked it up from her bed and saw Gloria's name flashing on the screen. She supposed the woman was wondering why she hadn't been at work the last few days. Bonnie wished she had an explanation for her. Still she picked up the phone, deciding to give her the same excuse that Stefan had given her aunt Clara, if it was indeed him that had taken her home.

However, before Bonnie could even say hello, Gloria was speaking, her voice frantic. "Listen to me and listen carefully," she said.

"I'm listening," Bonnie said, her tone immediately becoming serious to match Gloria's. She had grown to respect the woman over the summer. Not only had she given Bonnie a job but she had become a mentor of sorts to her. She was helping Bonnie slowly but surely re-access her powers and teaching Bonnie about their kind in the process. Gloria was normally playful but also straightforward so when she got serious about something Bonnie knew that there was no playing games.

She knew all about Bonnie's history and Bonnie knew some of hers as well. She was the first witch that had taken Bonnie under her wing since her Grams and Bonnie had grown to trust her explicitly.

"Come to my place at ten tomorrow if you want to know what happened to you," she said, "Klaus has been lurking around here but he usually leaves around ten at night to go out and find more seedy places to loiter about. I would've called sooner but it wasn't safe."

"Don't worry about it," Bonnie said, "I'll be there."

 **:::**

Stefan had been made to drink the first bag of Bonnie's blood after making sure that the witch had made it home to her aunt's safely. He had never tasted anything like it. It was smooth and rich and the minute that it had touched his tongue he had wanted more of it. It had burned on the way down, in that pleasant way alcohol did and it warmed him on the inside. The second bag he had drunk the same day without being asked.

It was the next day, and though he had tried to pace himself, to stop himself, he had already been through two more bags of Bonnie's blood without prompting. It was more than a thirst, what he had for it, it was a raw ache in the back of his throat that spread over his entire body.

Even worse than that both Bonnie and the blood were beginning to invade his thoughts, overriding all else. In the last few hours he had forgotten where he was at least three times and he was sure that he would eventually lose touch with reality if he continued to drink as much as he did the way that he did.

Klaus watched him with an amused sort of curiosity as he sat down across from him at their current haunt. Stefan was shaking and sweating and breathing heavily. But he forced himself to remain where he was. The only relief Stefan got was in sleep and that only came after he had had the taste he so craved.

"There's still plenty of blood left," Klaus said, encouragingly, "Why don't you have some more? Get some rest. You seem a bit…on edge."

"Fuck you," Stefan spat, tugging at his hair. The worst part was that, though, he had considered breaking Klaus' rule and feeding off of someone else to take the edge off, he knew it wouldn't be as good. Nothing would be as good as Bonnie's blood. Nothing would taste as pure.

"It was just a suggestion," Klaus shrugged, as he picked up a sketch pad from the table that was between them and the pencil sitting next to it, "Who knew that witch's blood could make a vampire so testy?"

"I won't kill her," Stefan said, shaking his head, "I won't. I'll let her live and I will suffer through this shit, just so I can see her end you. Slowly and painfully. That's good enough of a reason to keep her alive even without…."

Klaus looked up at him from where he had started to draw, his blue eyes questioning. "Without what?" Klaus asked.

"Nothing," Stefan muttered. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He imagined the scent of Bonnie's blood. He could see the green of her eyes. The almond color of her skin. The soft dark curls of her hair. He opened his eyes letting out as growl of frustration before he stood up and walked toward the door to the basement where the freezer that held Bonnie's blood was being kept.

Klaus watched him go, with a frown. Things weren't going as he had planned. Stefan should have been dreaming of killing the witch by now, of tasting the witches blood fresh from her veins. There was no reason that he should have been thinking about the witch in any other terms unless he was closer to her than Klaus had thought.

The only way to figure out would be to pry into the deepest and darkest recesses of Stefan's mind. Klaus was good at distorting a person's reality. At putting dreams and thoughts into people's heads, but those things wouldn't do him any good without knowing what it was that Stefan really wanted, what he really desired if it wasn't the witch's imminent demise.

But there was someone that he knew that could get the information that he needed out of Stefan, all he had to do was wake her up.

 **:::**

Bonnie sat down across from Gloria at a booth in the back of the bar. She had been apprehensive to start off with but was even more so when the woman placed as shot glass in front of her and poured her a shot of whiskey.

"You're not going to want to be sober for this one, doll," Gloria said.

Bonnie frowned but took the shot anyway, downing it in one swallow. She cleared her throat, placing the glass back on the table top. "Lay it on me," Bonnie said, crossing her legs underneath the table and running her hands over the green sun dress she was wearing.

"Klaus had asked about you," Gloria sighed, "I didn't really think anything of it. I thought that at the worst he would try to recruit you, try to persuade you to his side. I knew you were too smart for it and so I didn't worry."

"But that wasn't what he wanted was it?" Bonnie asked.

Gloria shook her head, pouring herself a shot before she continued. "No that wasn't what he wanted," she said, "He wanted to use you against his companion, Stefan Salvatore."

"Stefan isn't himself right now," Bonnie said, shaking her head, "As far as I know he's been on human blood all summer. There's no way that Klaus could effectively use me against him, not when he's like this. I've seen it firsthand a couple of times and it's not…not Stefan, not really."

"Even so," Gloria sighed, "He figured out a way." She downed the shot and shook her head. "You're not going to like hearing this. But the last time you were here, that night….you were in a car accident. Klaus had you taken to the hospital and basically farmed you for blood. He gave Stefan a choice. He could let you die or he could save you. But if he saved you then he would have to sustain himself on your blood and only your blood."

"Obviously Stefan chose to save me," Bonnie said, sounding as surprised as she felt given what she knew of Stefan's current state, "Which explains why I can't get him out of my head. That's what happened the last time his blood was in my system when he saved me not long after we first met. It was only a few days but I didn't feel like myself you know?" Gloria, nodded, pouring Bonnie another shot. "Let me guess," Bonnie sighed, "Because Stefan is a ripper Klaus is hoping that he'll like my blood enough to come after me and finish the job. I'll be dead anyway and Stefan will shut down not being able to handle the guilt. It makes sense, now that he can't use Elena against him, outside of Damon I'm the next best thing considering I'm the biggest threat to him." While Bonnie trusted Gloria she had yet to tell the woman that Elena was still alive, she didn't want to put her friend at risk for any reason, and even if Gloria had kept the secret, it could always be tortured out of her later.

While Bonnie had been out of touch with everyone back at Mystic Falls for the most part and while in some ways she had changed over the summer under Gloria's tutelage, that didn't mean she wasn't still loyal to her friends first. Which was why she wanted to call Elena and Jeremy and explain the situation to them. But she didn't want to put Elena in harm's way and Jeremy hadn't been answering her calls as of late so she knew that she would have to take care of this herself.

"It isn't that simple, sweetheart," Gloria said. She drummed her nails against the table top and titled her head, unsure of how to word what she was about to say next. "The thing about a witch's blood," Gloria stated, "Is that even for the most in control of vampires it's very addictive and Stefan being what he is, having done the things that he's done… Things that even you don't know about. It makes him particularly dangerous to you right now. How close are you to him? And I need an honest answer."

Bonnie shrugged, downing her second shot. "I used to know," she said, "But I don't anymore. I thought we could be friends before what happened to my Grams but then I knew I couldn't trust him. We were getting to a better place I think, mostly because we had Elena in common and I could…never manage to say no to him. Partially because he's saved me before and partially because I've always….felt connected to him I guess. I don't really know why, it's just been there under the surface. But we're not close really."

"Well," Gloria frowned, "It sounds to me like you are and if he was willing to save your life then you probably mean more to him than you think. Which is a bad thing, because with this…the closer the witch is to the vampire the more the blood effects them. It probably won't take more than a few days for him to come after you."

"Which means that we still have time to find a solution," Bonnie insisted.

Gloria, shook her head. "You said you weren't close to him and in the next breath you're trying to get him out of his fix," she laughed, without humor, "What you need to do is stay away from him. While there is a chance that he won't want to kill you, you won't like the other option much either. And if he was as in love with your friend as you say then he'll definitely want to kill you over the other possibility."

"Are you going to keep being cryptic or are you going to tell me what else he could want besides me dead?" Bonnie asked.

Gloria cleared her throat. "I knew this witch once," she said, "Back in the twenties. Pretty little thing by the name of Florence. But folks around here called her Flo. She was friends with a booze runner. I was against it, he was white and married. But he gave Flo a few gigs at his brother's club and said a few sweet words and she insisted that there wasn't anything to it but what it was on the surface. This was before Klaus met Stefan the first time around-"

"What do you mean the first time around?" Bonnie asked, interrupting.

"I thought I told you," Gloria answered, "Klaus and Stefan knew each other back then. They were thick as thieves, used to cut up and reek all kinds of havoc. Stefan even had a thing with Nik's sister back then. But something sent them running and they had to leave Stefan behind. Not sure what it was but you know about Elijah so I'm assuming it wouldn't surprise you if I told you Klaus daggered his sister, then he wiped Stefan's memory and they were gone like they were never here at all."

"When Klaus knew Stefan before," Bonnie said, "Was he on human blood?"

Gloria nodded. "Stefan is what they call a ripper," Gloria said, "Goes on blood binges. Black outs…the whole nine yards. You've heard it before, I know, but you haven't experienced it firsthand no matter what you say you've witnessed. Where the ripper part comes in is the kicker. After he's done with the body, he dismembers them. Couldn't even recognize some of them after he was done with them. The saddest part about is sometimes the sap felt so guilty about it afterward he'd try to piece the bodies back together. Sick shit, I know, and Klaus was all over it."

Bonnie felt the urge to vomit, but poured herself another shot instead. "So," she said, wanting to change the subject, "What happened to Flo?"

"Klaus tried to persuade her over to his side," Gloria stated, "And into his bed. The man has a thing for witches you wouldn't believe. He probably would have went after you if he didn't figure you were a lost cause. But Flo, he was certain she would fall for his charms, and that was probably why he wasn't so happy when she didn't. He kidnapped her and farmed her for blood same way he did you. Turned that booze runner that was friendly with her and got him hooked on her blood. She disappeared a few days after the man was turned and Klaus thought he killed her and we all let him think it."

"What really happened?"

"He seduced her," Gloria said, "They ran off together. He left his wife. She kept giving him blood and he became more and more obsessed with her. Got to the point where he would kill any man who even looked in her direction. She couldn't take it anymore after a while, and he didn't want to live without her. She ended up having to kill him."

Bonnie frowned, looking down at the table. "There isn't really any chance of anything like that happening with me and Stefan," Bonnie said, "He was as in love with Elena as I said before and even if he wasn't there's never been any sort of attraction there."

Gloria rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said, "And you two aren't close at all either."

Bonnie sighed. "Look," she said, "Whether you believe me or not isn't the issue. Stefan saved my life which means no matter what the effects of this blood are he is likely trying to fight them. I can't ignore either of those things and I can't sit back and do nothing. So the way I see it, I have two options, I could run and lead them back to Mystic Falls and make everyone else I care about a target or I could stay here and try and figure out some kind of solution or some kind of loop hole in hopes that maybe we can stop whatever is coming before it starts."

"And I am going to assume that you're going to go with the latter," Gloria said, blandly. When Bonnie nodded she sighed heavily. "I guess that also means you're going to need my help," she said.

"If you're willing to give it," Bonnie said.

"Alright," Gloria said, "We'll give it two more days. If we don't find a solution by then you have to promise that you're going to get the hell out of this city. I don't care if you have to go to the moon. You can't stay in Chicago, not while he's here."

"Fine," Bonnie agreed, "If we can't find anything I'll leave. I promise."

 **:::**

The last thing that Rebekah Mikaelson had expected to wake up to was a world in which ninety years had passed and Stefan Salvatore was on his way to being addicted to some random witch's blood. Worse than that her necklace was missing and that was what her brother needed to execute the rest of his plans.

"You should have just shown him," Rebekah pouted at the brother, "Made him remember."

Klaus shook his head. "I did," he said, "Yesterday, but the exposure to the blood is effecting him already. He doesn't seem to care. But the way he was acting…it wouldn't have mattered to him anyway."

"How do you know that?" Rebekah protested, "If you had just given him a chance-"

Klaus eyed his sister impassively. "Like I said," Klaus said, "He isn't the same person. He's lived a whole life without us in it. I feel like he's lying about something but I can't put my finger on it. He's soft now. I was trying to bring out that part of him, the strong merciless killer, and even that isn't working and I don't understand why."

"So you tried to trap him into killing this witch that almost ended you," Rebekah said, "You said that the blood was affecting him. So what's the problem? It usually takes a few days for the killer instinct to set in."

"That's just the thing," Klaus frowned, "This is the third day he's been on her blood and there hasn't been any signs that he wants to kill her. Her blood he desires, yes, but not the kill. I need to know why."

Rebekah nodded, finally understanding. "And you want me to find out," she said.

"All I managed to get out of Gloria was that the closer a vampire is to a witch the stronger the effect which I already knew," he said, "I've tapped into all of my resources and the best I could get is that the vampire can fall on two ends of the spectrum. The first end leads to the death of the witch and the other end more than likely leads to the death of the vampire, sometimes by its own hands."

"Obviously the first would be the urge to kill the witch," Rebekah said, "So what's the opposite end?"

"I'll take you to Stefan and we'll see if we can figure it out," he said.

Rebekah followed her brother, attempting to fix her hair as she went. Even with her brother's warnings she still held out hope that once Stefan saw her, some of the old feelings would return.

Klaus led Rebekah through their old haunt and down into the basement. She jumped as she heard a crash but she continued to follow Klaus down the stairs. She scowled as they reached the bottom and she saw the scratches and holes all over the walls as if someone had gone between punching them and trying to claw their way out. There was furniture thrown about and pieces of ripped clothing on the floor.

By the time Stefan came into view Rebekah didn't know what to expect. They found him in the corner of the room, huddled up into himself, his eyes on the freezer. He looked like a man condemned, just waiting for his passage into hell.

Klaus stopped a few feet away from him, but Rebekah continued to hesitantly move forward. "Stefan?" She whispered.

He looked at her but it was clear he wasn't really seeing her, she wasn't even sure that he was lucid.

"There's only two bags left," he said, his eyes empty, "I tried to save it. To pace myself...but… Just two bags." He looked down at his shaking hands and then back up again. "Have you met Bonnie?" he asked, "Seen her face? Smelled her scent? She smells like honey and vanilla. That's kind of how her blood tastes…like honey and vanilla…and something else…..something else…I can't figure it out…I can't…."

"Stefan," Klaus said, interrupting his rambling, "You know if you run out then you could always go the source."

Stefan shook his head vehemently. "No," he spat, "That's what Klaus wants me to do." Rebekah's frowned deepened when she realized he really wasn't aware of who he was even speaking to. "But she's too good," he said, "She's too pure. That's why I stayed away. I've always stayed away from her. Even when I wanted..."

"Wanted what, Stefan?" Rebekah pushed, gently.

Stefan shook his head again. "I won't go to her," he said, "You can't make me. I can fight it, just like before."

Rebekah opened her mouth to try and get him to elaborate but stopped when she felt Klaus' hand on her shoulder. "You're wasting time," he said, "You know how to get the answers that you want out of him. Now do it. He'll be lucid soon and then he'll be able to fight you off. Do it now or we'll have to wait until the next time that he breaks and feeds again."

Sighing but nodding her acquiescence, Rebekah closed her eyes. She delved into Stefan's mind, prodding gently at first but then she became more insistent and she reached into the surface. She saw some girl, the doppelganger and huffed before digging deeper. She moved past his brother, and past a couple of unfamiliar faces, even past herself and her brother. The witch in question appeared throughout his thoughts, fading in and out, but there was a dark corner where she seemed to take up residence alone. Rebekah's hands clenched into fists as she saw the thoughts there, even without digging too deep she didn't like what she saw.

She came out of it quickly, not wanting to see anymore. "Well you were right about one thing," she said, "He doesn't want to kill her."

"Then what does he want?" Klaus demanded.

"To fuck her," Rebekah said, "He's thought about it a lot actually. The imagery in his mind is very… _vivid_."

Klaus frowned. "Why would he fight against that so hard?" he asked, "Not wanting to kill her I could understand as he has a soft spot for her, which was why I tried to push him to do it in the first place. But trying this hard not to fuck her?"

"He wants to stay faithful to the doppelganger," Rebekah explained, "But more than that he doesn't want to taint the witch. He makes her out in his head like she's some kind of martyred saint. I've never seen anyone placed on so high a pedestal."

"Not without reason, little sister," Klaus said, "She is the personification of a sacrificial lamb. One would think she was indeed trying to reach sainthood."

"It doesn't matter," Rebekah said, rolling her eyes, "He won't touch her." It was clear that she was threatened by the witch. "He's also afraid he'll hurt her as well," she told him, "That he'll lose control and kill her anyway."

"So the death of the witch is still a possibility," Klaus smirked, "Well, that I can work with."

"What are you going to do?" Rebekah asked. She could see the gears turning in his mind and she knew that it didn't bode well for Stefan.

"Give him what he wants," Klaus said, "At least in a manner of speaking. Just think if he kills her but seduces her first. The guilt would eat away at him even more."

"Why are you doing this?" Rebekah frowned.

"In case you've forgotten," Klaus said, "His emotions were turned off when he met us. He was much more fun then. I could force his hand but if he does it of his own free will…"

"It'll be more effective," Rebekah finished.

"All I have to do is push the right buttons," Klaus nodded, "And he will be back to his old self in no time."

 **:::**

Bonnie closed yet another grimoire after finding nothing. There didn't seem to be a feasible solution and yet in spite of what she told Gloria, she didn't see leaving as an option. The only place she could go was back to Mystic Falls and she knew that if Stefan followed her there then Klaus would follow him there and would likely find out that Elena was indeed still alive.

Worse than that the situation was getting even more trying for Bonnie. While, things were quiet on the outside on Klaus and Stefan's end, Bonnie's subconscious was in an uproar. Dreams of Stefan attacking her plagued her when she slept. She heard his voice at odd times when she was awake. She saw his face whenever she closed her eyes.

She was running out of options and she was beginning to get scared. Though, she had greater access to her powers than she did at the beginning of the summer thanks to Gloria, it still wasn't much and she tended to burn out quickly. She knew that if he came for her she would be too weak to fight him off.

Besides even if she was strong enough, could she really kill him? No matter what state he was in he was still Stefan and she doubted very much that she would be able to see past that. She was already making excuses for him in her head. Blaming Klaus for his behavior and for his addiction. Reminding herself that he had saved her and was likely fighting the pull toward her even now, so that she could still see the good in him.

But trying to see the good in him was foolish she knew. He was a monster. A monster that was likely out to drain her dry. And he would succeed if she didn't find a solution in time. She felt trapped and alone.

She picked up her cell phone and thought about calling Elena, or Caroline, or Jeremy. But if she did would she tell them the truth or would it just be one more thing that she kept from the Gilberts for their own protection? Would they even answer the phone? The last time she had even spoken to anyone had been on Elena's birthday and she was sure that once Elena found out where Stefan was she would be more worried about getting him home than she would be concerned about Bonnie's safety. It was a sad thing to even think but it was the truth.

"I just have to keep looking," Bonnie sighed, to herself, "I can't give up."

Picking up the next book from her bed, she opened it and began to read asking silently for the spirits to give her some guidance.

 **:::**

 _Stefan opened his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar empty room tied to a chair. Dried blood from self-afflicted wounds clung to his skin. He was shaking and sweating and his vision was blurred. Restraining himself was the last resort._

 _After he had begged and begged he had managed to get Klaus to tie him up. He didn't know where he was and that was a good thing. The less he knew the better. If he didn't know where he was that meant that didn't know how to get out or how far away he was from Bonnie._

 _He frowned as he heard footsteps. He smelled the faint scent of honey in the air. "No," he said, shaking his head, "No."_

 _But even so the next moment Bonnie came into view, her eyes frantic and her expression worried. "Stefan," she said, her voice full of relief, "I finally found you. I've been looking all over. I thought Klaus had killed you."_

 _"You can't be here," Stefan insisted, "You have to leave."_

 _Bonnie shook her head kneeling before him and taking his face in her hands. "No," she said, "I'm going to get you out of here. You saved my life and now it's my turn."_

 _"If you don't leave now," Stefan said, "I'll kill you."_

 _Bonnie smiled a strange sort of smile at him that he found unsettling. "Is that what you think?" She asked._

 _"I don't think," Stefan said, "I know."_

 _Bonnie laughed then, standing to her feet. "Come on now, Stefan," she said, her tone almost teasing, "We both know you don't want to kill me. You just want me right…and you don't have to fight it. Not anymore."_

 _"Bonnie," Stefan protested as she pulled a gleaming silver knife from the pocket of the shorts that she was wearing._

 _"I'll take care of you," she said, "I'll help you. It's not like you haven't used me before right? What's so bad about the idea now, hm?"_

 _Stefan pulled at the chain restraining him to the chair, but he was too weak, having gone so long without feeding._

 _"You look hungry," Bonnie said, climbing onto his lap, her legs straddling his waist, "How about a little taste?"_

 _"Don't," Stefan pled, shaking his head. Still she took the knife in her hand and drew it across the skin of her arm until she drew blood. He had to close his eyes as he caught sight of it and he felt the familiar burning in the back of his throat. "This isn't real," he said, his voice hoarse, "This isn't you."_

 _"But it can be," Bonnie whispered, reaching out and running her fingers through his sweat dampened hair, "I can be yours. All you have to do is come to me. Take me. Isn't that what you want Stefan?"_

 _"No," Stefan protested, shutting his eyes even tighter._

"No," Stefan shouted aloud, as he finally managed to break out of the hallucination. He was a mess. Trembling in the corner of the room as Klaus looked on at him, his face looking almost sympathetic.

Klaus had been in his head for two days now. He had run out of blood one day ago and he knew that he wouldn't make it much longer.

"How much longer can you take this, old friend?" Klaus asked, "Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see your old strength coming back but your motivation leaves much to be desired."

"Why are you doing this?" Stefan asked, his voice unsteady.

Instead of answering Klaus stood from the chair that he was sitting in on the other end of the basement room and stretched his arms over his head. "I keep trying," he said, "But I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that your respect and admiration for one witch could be stronger than your desire for her blood."

"That's because you've never cared about anyone in your life," Stefan spat, "Not the way-"

"That you care about Bonnie?" Klaus asked, on a laugh. He shook his head. "I suppose with Elena gone that she is one of the few people that you have left outside of your dear brother but still," he said, "I doubt that even your love for Elena could inspire this much devotion. What I don't understand is why the witch?"

"She's the only person I know…that would do this for me," Stefan said, more to remind himself than to answer Klaus, "What I'm doing now. She's the only person I know that's selfless enough to fight this hard not to do something that she knows would hurt me, or anyone else."

"Rebekah was right," Klaus sighed, "You do think she's some kind of saint." He had gone from looking sympathetic to bored. "What do you have left to fight with Stefan?" Klaus asked, "You are coming apart at the seams. How much longer can you do this? You don't have anything left to fight with."

But Klaus was wrong, there was one more thing he could do. One more move he could make, but it was too risky. He had thought more than once about turning off his emotions. There was a chance that when he did it would switch off his desire for Bonnie and her blood as well. But there was also a chance that it would simply take away his inhibitions. The only thing keeping him from going after Bonnie was the fact that he cared about her, the fact that he didn't want to hurt her or Elena by going after her. Without his emotions those things would be gone and nothing would be standing in his way. He didn't know what the outcome would be, but he did know he stood the chance to lose out either way.

"How long will it be before you give in, old friend?" Klaus asked, once more.

"A little longer," Stefan told him, his tone bitter and biting, "I still have one more trick up my sleeve, Nik. And this one I think you'll like."

Before Klaus could ask him what it was or try and bait him Stefan closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he flipped the switch and let his emotions go.

 **:::**

Bonnie unlocked the door to her aunt's house and walked inside. As she shut it and locked the door behind her she frowned at how quiet the house seemed.

"Dad?" she called out, "Aunt Clara?" She sighed when there was no answer. She rarely saw her father even though they were supposed to be spending time together over the summer so not getting an answer from him wasn't all that surprising. However, her aunt was almost always home.

Walking into the kitchen Bonnie turned on the light and sighed in relief when she saw the note from her aunt on the refrigerator saying that she was at dinner with friends.

She hadn't known what to think but she knew with Klaus in town, anything was possible. Placing her purse on the kitchen counter and kicking off her shoes, Bonnie went about fishing out her cell phone so that she could tell Gloria that she had made it home safely. She froze, however, when the light in the living room suddenly came on.

Keeping her phone in hand, Bonnie cautiously left the kitchen. She took a deep breath before she walked into the living room, expecting the worste and she found it. As she walked inside she was greeted by the sight of Stefan Salvatore sitting on her couch.

"Hello Bonnie," he greeted his tone almost pleasant, "It's been a long time. Well for you at least since the last time I saw you, you weren't really conscious."  
Bonnie shifted uncomfortably under his gaze as she stood in the doorway. His eyes seemed empty and his face lacked color. His seemed weak almost and yet she still found him to be intimidating. A weak vampire was still stronger than a mere human after all. "How did you get in here?" Bonnie demanded, though her voice faltered a bit.

"You're aunt Clara invited me in on her way out to wait for you," he told her, "She's a nice lady. I like her. Very sweet."

Bonnie cleared her throat, feeling the need to not beat around the bush. "Are you here to kill me?" She asked.

Stefan stood without answering, and began to walk toward her. "I tried not to come here you know," he said, "I tried everything to stop myself. I tried not to drink your blood and that didn't work. It just makes me so hungry no matter how much of it I drink and I couldn't resist. So I tried to lock myself in Klaus' basement but then I just tore up some furniture, and practically clawing at the walls. And you were _all I could think about_."

Bonnie wasn't sure what she found more disturbing, his words or the hard edge to his tone. However, even as he grew closer to her, she remained silent and still.

"Then after I ran out of blood Klaus thought it would be fun to play around in my head a bit," Stefan continued, with a humorless laugh, "Made me hallucinate and _that_ …that was fun."

"Stefan," Bonnie said, carefully but stopped when he closed his eyes and sighed.

"That voice," he said, "Your voice has been torturing me for days. And I got so desperate. So fucking desperate not to hurt you and so I turned it off."

"Turned what off?" Bonnie asked, finally taking a step back.

"My emotions," Stefan clarified, waving a hand dismissively, "I thought it would stop the fucking longing. I mean I couldn't even breathe in and out without your name passing through my mind. It was driving me insane, literally. So I thought if I couldn't feel then I wouldn't want the blood, wouldn't want you. But it had kind of the opposite effect. I can't really feel anything else outside of my desire for you, and if that isn't the universe trying to screw me over then I really don't know what is."

"What did Klaus do to you?" Bonnie frowned, shaking her head, "This can't just be from my blood. There has to be some kind of spell."

"Something that has a quick fix you mean," Stefan laughed, "Sorry but no. He just gave me your blood. That's all it took and I became a man obsessed."

Bonnie looked around her for somewhere to run. "So you do want to kill me," she said, just as she remembered the phone in her hand. She just had to call someone, it didn't matter who, just anyone who could help.

As if he had read her mind, Stefan took the phone from his her hand in one swift motion and crushed it before tossing the remains the floor. "Don't be scared, Bonnie," he said, when she flinched away from him, "I don't want to hurt you. You see I want you alive. That way I can hear your heart pounding just like it is now. That way I can smell your scent. That way I can see your pretty little eyes look at me full of life. It wouldn't be fun for me if you died, not with that I have planned."

"And what exactly do you have planned for me?" Bonnie asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"I'll tell you," he said, "Gladly. But first I just want a little taste." His words were the only warning that she got before Stefan grabbed her, his face distorting as he sunk his fangs into her neck.


	2. Stage Two: Dependency

**Title:** Thirst

 **Rating:** M

 **Genre:** AU/AH/Supernatural/Horror

 **Pairing(s):** Bonnie/Stefan

 **Summary:** Not many are aware of the addictive qualities of a witch's blood. Klaus is, and he knows just what it could do to Stefan Salvatore in his ripper state. However, when his plan to drive Stefan to drain Bonnie Bennett dry and thereby eliminating his greatest foe and pushing Stefan over the edge backfires, no one is prepared of the consequences.

 **Warnings:** Language, Character Death, Violence, Torture, Non-Canon, Sexual Content, Dub-con, etc.

 **Stefonnie Appreciation Week Theme:** Day Two (Going Dark)

 **Stage Two** ∥ **Dependency**

" _It is hard to understand addiction unless you have experienced it."_ __ _Ken Hensley_

Elena Gilbert wasn't sure where else to look in regards to Stefan Salvatore's whereabouts. They had lost track of him after Tennessee and it was almost as if he had disappeared. Or more likely, Klaus had him locked up somewhere.

She told herself that it was better this way, that she didn't need to find him, and that she could let go and live her life the way that he would want her to. And yet, yet letting go seemed like so foreign a concept, even as she was beginning to forget why she was holding on so tightly in the first place.

While Matt had been her first love, Stefan had been her soul mate, or the closest thing that she ever came to it. But the more that she dug into his life, into his past, the less she felt that she knew him. There were parts of Stefan that he had kept hidden from her and parts that she knew that she would never know. It bothered her more than she was letting on, because she had told herself that she could deal with whatever he threw at her. She could still love him no matter who he was or what he had done. But was it the truth? Was it really the truth?

It seemed to her when she allowed herself to think about it that her love for him wasn't as unconditional as she would have everyone believe. She couldn't love him the way that he was now, she loved who he had been, and what he had been to her. That was who she wanted, what she was trying to get back. But if that person was lost to her, she wasn't sure that she would want what was left. And that was why she kept making herself believe that the Stefan that she loved was still there somewhere. She couldn't let go of him even as part of her realized that she needed to.

"Maybe you should take a break in the search for now," a voice said from behind her causing her to stir.

She turned from where she was sitting on her living room couch and looked at her brother as he walked in. "I can't," Elena said, "I have to keep trying." As she looked at him a thought came to her. "Have you talked to Bonnie at all," Elena asked, "I know it's a stretch but since we've been driving all around creation looking for Stefan anyway there's no real reason we can't drive up to her and get her to perform some kind of locator spell."

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Neither one of us has really talked to her all summer and you want to go on a road trip not to see her but to ask her to do some spell?" He asked, incredulously, shaking his head.

"I wouldn't even consider it if it wasn't important," Elena defended, "It's like Stefan has disappeared off the radar."

"Just don't use her unless it's as a last resort okay," Jeremy said, "She was supposed to be spending time with her family not dabbling in magic all summer."

Elena raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a once over. "I've been too busy looking for Stefan all summer," she said, "But why have you not been in contact with Bonnie. Last time I checked she was your girlfriend."

"And last time I checked she was your best friend," Jeremy countered, "We just keep missing each other. At least I've tried which is more than I can say for you."

That wasn't necessarily the truth. He hadn't really tried and as the ghost of Vicki Donovan suddenly appeared at his side he was reminded of why.

 **:::**

Bonnie woke up slowly, not remembering having fallen asleep and yet hoping that her encounter with Stefan had only been a nightmare. However, as she sat up and saw him sitting on the edge of her bed she was forced to comprehend the reality of the situation.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked, drawing his attention to her. She groaned, pulling herself up against the headboard of her bed, and drawing her knees toward her chest. She was attempting to get as far away from him as possible.

Stefan glanced at her and then looked straight ahead at the far wall. "I took too much blood and you passed out," he answered, "I would apologize but I haven't eaten in a while so…"

Bonnie scowled, reaching up to touch her neck. Her frown deepened when she realized that there was no wound there. "You gave me your blood," Bonnie stated.

Stefan nodded though it wasn't really a question. "I told you," he said, "I want you alive."

As he looked at her she met his gaze and searched his in an attempt to find at least some part of him that still gave a damn, because she knew that was what would be the only fighting chance that she had. However, his eyes were nearly blank, the only thing betraying his desire for her being the dilation of his pupils.

"You don't have to do this, Stefan," Bonnie tried, even as she realized how hopeless her situation was.

"You think that I want to?" Stefan asked, "That I have any more of choice than you do in this? That this is fun for me?" He paused at the last question and then looked to be considering the thought. "Well actually," he amended, "It is a little fun. But trust me, that's just the ripper talking."

"Is this amusing to you?" Bonnie asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Of course not," Stefan said sarcastically, standing to his feet, "Addiction is a very serious issue." Bonnie watched as he took off his jacket and tossed it across the room, where it landed on her desktop. "I thought you of all people would understand considering your addiction to martyrdom," he said.

Bonnie gritted her teeth as her eyes followed Stefan's movements. He walked around the bed and sat down next to her, so close that their sides were touching. "You can't help yourself," Bonnie said, "Fine. Then fight for control."

"No," Stefan said. He reached out and brushed the hair away from her face and she shrunk away from him.

"No?" Bonnie spat, "That's it? You're not even going to try."

"I've been trying," he said, "I told you that. But everything about you is just so very _tempting_." He gently stroked her neck with his fingertips, and whispered into her ear. "Your blood is the sweetest thing I have ever tasted," he told her.

Bonnie turned her head toward him and regretted it a moment later when she found that her face was only a few inches from his own. "Is that supposed to be flattering?" She muttered.

"You should definitely take it as a complement," Stefan said, resting his chin on her shoulder, "I mean it's not as if you don't enjoy the fact that I want you just a little."

Bonnie bit her lip and looked away from him. "You want my blood," she said, "Not me. So I'll make you a deal. I'll let you…feed from me. But I keep looking for a solution to this problem….and when I find it this is over."

"Not good enough," Stefan said, "I don't just want your blood. I want both. I want your body too." Bonnie was about to tell him that he couldn't have both when he shook his head. "But I know you," he said, "And I know you are going to make me work for it so…I'll agree to your conditions…for now. But you should understand something."

Bonnie stood abruptly, needing to put some distance between them. "Yeah," she said, turning to face him as she stood next to the bed, "What's that?"

"Feeding isn't what you think it is," he said, "At least not with me. It's more than just an act of sustenance. It's an art form."

"Really?" Bonnie laughed, "Well it doesn't feel like an art form. And the last time I checked there isn't any art that involves dismembering someone's body."

"Depends on your perspective," Stefan shrugged, "There is the art of pain and there is the art of pleasure. The feeding process is always pleasurable for me but for my victims it could be extremely painful, extremely pleasurable or a little of both. Depending on my mood."

Bonnie began to fidget under his gaze but still she attempted to save face. "And what mood are you in right now?" She asked, the tremble in her voice indicative of her fear.

Stefan stood and walked around the bed to where she stood. He stopped just behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I told you that I want you so that should tell you something," he said, "But right now I am not going to force you into agreeing to anything. As much as I would love to have you as my personal blood bag I'm amiable enough for now to wait until you understand everything that entails."

"And you're going to tell me what it entails?" Bonnie asked. She didn't think she wanted to know but it would at the very least buy her some time. Some time to get to the landline or make a run for it. But now that he had an open invitation to her aunt's house he had open access to her family. She was trapped, cornered. Every time she tried to think her way out of the situation there was another obstacle in her way.

"I was actually planning on giving you a more hands on demonstration," Stefan said.

She didn't think that it would bode well to ask what he would do if she refused. He had already demonstrated the painful aspect of feeding, though she suspected that first attack had more to do with the fact that he hadn't had blood in a while then the fact that he had wanted to harm her, at least that was what she hoped.

Bonnie knew that she would regret not putting up more of a fight later, but at this point she was more focused on survival than right and wrong. Besides that she knew that her aunt would have to return eventually.

"What do you want me do?" Bonnie asked, meeting his eyes head on, refusing to back down from his stare.

"You can start by taking off your dress," he instructed.

Bonnie looked down and debated with herself internally. She hadn't expected for things to escalate so quickly and she wished like hell that she had listened to Gloria. But it was too late for regrets now.

She eyed him to see if he was serious about his request. He was, in a way. But a part of him was playing with her, attempting to see how much he could push her, how far she would go.

Taking a deep breath Bonnie bent down and hiked the skirt of her dress up before pulling it over her head. As she let it fall to the ground she told herself that she was going along with him because she had to, because there was no point in fighting him. Not because there was something in her that wanted to, that had thought about going there with him and had been waiting for the perfect excuse to let it happen.

"Black lace," Stefan murmured surveying her bra and panties, "I like."

"Just tell me where you want me," Bonnie said, trying not to be affected by the way that his eyes were devouring her. No one had ever really seen her with so little clothing on before and she hadn't ever expected for it to happen under these particular circumstances.

"So complacent," Stefan said, looking her up and down, "Not even putting up that much of a fight. It's almost as if you've thought about this before. About me. Doesn't surprise me. I've thought about you. The way you looked at me when you first saw me, I knew that I could have you if I really wanted to."

"Tell me where you want me," Bonnie repeated, "Before I change my mind and decide to try my hand at killing you instead. I'm stronger now. I might even be able to pull it off."

"It wouldn't be about if you had the power to kill me," Stefan said, "I don't doubt that you do. What you don't have is the stomach for it."

"Are you sure about that?" Bonnie asked, her anger rising.

Stefan looked at her for a long time and then decided against answering her question. "I want you on the bed," he said. Bonnie hesitated a moment before she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Lie back," Stefan instructed.

"You said that you weren't going to…," she said started, but couldn't finish, "That we weren't going to do anything…like that."

Stefan rolled his eyes. "This isn't about sex," he said, "Well…not entirely. Now lie back."

"I don't trust you," Bonnie said, even as she lied down on the bed. She looked up at the ceiling, trying not to think too hard about what was happening even as she saw Stefan removing his shirt out of the corner of her eyes.

"You shouldn't," Stefan said seriously, "And I don't expect you to. You didn't before so why would you when I'm like this."

Bonnie didn't answer him as he removed his shoes and joined her on the bed, lying down next to her on his side, his head propped on his hand.

Bonnie began to squirm as he stared at her. The waiting was agitating her. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, "Just do it."

"It works better if you're calm," Stefan said, leaning in and breathing in her scent, "I can smell the fear and agitation coming off of you. It's kind of a turn off." He was lying, for the most part. While he did want her calm, he couldn't really find anything about her to be off putting in the state that he was in.

"Do you really think I care about what turns you on?" Bonnie asked, turning to face him.

"Give me your hand," Stefan said ignoring the question. Bonnie moved the hand closest to him slightly closer and he lifted it, examining it. Sitting up a little he pressed two fingers on the crease of her wrist.

Bonnie frowned, and was beginning to think that her blood had really driven him insane when she felt herself began to calm. Her heart rate slowing and breathing evening out. "What did you do?" Bonnie asked," What is that?"

"A pressure point," Stefan said, "When we were in Tennessee I fed off of this acupuncturist. It was a very informative experience. I had learned a few tricks over the years but nothing like this." He shifted his body until he was leaning over her, almost to the point where he was on top of her. "She dated this vampire a while back," he said, "so she was used to donating as she put it. Anyway, she found out that if he put the right amount of pressure in the right place at the right time while he was feeding from her she…well you know."

Bonnie managed to look skeptical even though she was slightly distracted by the fact that he was so close to her, while she was in so vulnerable a position. "You really expect me to buy that?" Bonnie said, "It's obviously just some excuse for you to touch me."

"Why would I need an excuse?" Stefan asked, "You already know that I want to. And I might want more but I would be fine just seeing your face, hearing your voice, being close to you, and of course having your blood. The more I get from you the saner I feel but that doesn't mean that I'm going to lie to take it. I'm just trying to make this as physically painless for you as possible. You've felt what it's like to be fed from and if you can handle the pain then fine. Or we could try this way."

"Not saying that I believe this will actually work," Bonnie said, "But I would rather not be in pain if you're going to be feeding from me."

Nodding, Stefan leaned down and letting his fangs descend he bit into her neck.

The pain was sharp and Bonnie felt extreme discomfort as he began to drain her blood from her. She fought the urge to struggle away from him as she felt his finger began to trail down her stomach. She stilled as his hand stopped just below her navel. As he pressed down gently the pain disappeared and she felt the beginnings of arousal. The sudden change from pain to pleasure caused her body to jerk upward.

Stefan pulled away looking down at her, licking the blood from his lips. "You okay?" He asked, the shadow of his former self appearing.

Bonnie nodded. "I'm fine," she whispered.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked. When she shook her head, his mouth went back to the open wound, and his hand wound around her back until he reached the point he was looking for in the middle of her lower back.

He continued his movements, feeding and applying pressure to different points on her body until she was squirming with need beneath him. She pushed at his shoulders forcing him to pull back.

Before he could ask if she wanted him to stop again Bonnie wrapped her hand around his wrist and guided his hand in between her legs. As he began to touch her through the lace material of her panties he couldn't help but lean forward and kiss her lips.

Surprisingly she kissed him back and Stefan was sure that she could taste her blood on his lips. She didn't seemed to mind however as his tongue invaded her mouth and she began to move against his hand. But the longer they kissed the stiffer she became and Stefan knew what would come before it did.

It was the kiss that brought Bonnie back down to earth. The kiss that was too intimate. The kiss that felt like an invasion. The kiss that tasted like copper and salt from her blood. She pushed Stefan away and shook her head. "I want you to leave," she said.

"Can I ask why?" Stefan asked, even as he began to sit up.

"You got what you came for," Bonnie said, her voice trembling from embarrassment, shame, and lingering arousal, "I'm sure the blood will last you a while. Now please go." She moved to cover herself as Stefan stood and put his shirt and shoes back on. "I'll keep giving you blood but whatever that was," she said, "It can't happen again."

"Why?" Stefan asked, "Because you were too close to letting me fuck you?" She winced at his words but his mental state wouldn't allow him to regret them.

"Because it's wrong Stefan," Bonnie said, sitting up, "Because you might not have a choice but I do. I can fight this. I can find another way." A part of her didn't want to find another way, however, a part of her wanted to take what he was offering no questions asked. It was terrifying and exciting. Bonnie's stomach clenched at the last thought. Jeremy had never even touched her the way that she had just allowed Stefan too and she was supposed to be in love with him. Not to mention the fact that Stefan wasn't in his right mind and Elena would probably kill her if she ever found out.

"Fine," Stefan said, "Keep looking for another solution. Then when you realize that there's only two ways that this can end and you decide whether you want to feed me or kill me, because those are your options at this point, you can come and find me."

As he left Bonnie couldn't help but think that he was right, and she knew as she remembered the way that he had looked at her, the way that he had touched her, of those two choices killing wouldn't be the one that she picked.

 **:::**

Now that Stefan Salvatore was preoccupied, Klaus Mikaelson's focus moved away from Stefan, toward the matter of his hybrids. While things had turned out the way he wanted them in some respects, as Stefan had flipped his switch and turned off his emotions, he knew that since Stefan now desired the Bennett witch's body that her death would come later rather than sooner.

In the meantime Klaus decided to focus on finding his sister's necklace. That was what was needed in order to communicate with his mother to find out why his hybrids weren't living. And now that Rebekah was awake, Gloria could use her to find out where the necklace was, though Klaus had to wonder how it had even gone missing.

Gloria couldn't be trusted Klaus knew, she was working with him one moment and warning Bonnie away from him the next but she was powerful and useful and if it came down to it, if she crossed him in a way that actually caused him real damage he could always kill her. Besides he liked people that he couldn't trust and that didn't trust him. People that didn't play into his hand, and fall for his games were always the most fun to play with.

He watched as the witch touched his sister's hand and used her powers to begin the search. When Gloria frowned, he knew something was wrong. "I thought you said the doppelganger was dead," Gloria said.

"She is dead," Klaus told her, "I watched her die. I drained her of close to every drop of blood."

"She's alive," Gloria said, looking unimpressed, "So apparently you didn't. The necklace is with her." Gloria had had half a mind to keep her mouth shut as she knew what the doppelganger meant to Bonnie. But if Klaus was focused on this Elena Gilbert then Bonnie would be off of his radar and Gloria could sneak the girl out of town if she could convince her to stop playing the martyr long enough to do so. Though, if it came down to it then Gloria would kill Stefan herself.

"How is that possible?" Klaus frowned.

"The witch obviously," Rebekah commented, sounding bored, "I'm not sure how the bitch got my necklace but obviously the little twit is alive thanks to Bonnie. You know witches can find loopholes and quick fixes when need be. They have the power, they create the spells, and they make the rules. And you said this Bonnie was the doppelganger's friend and you also mentioned that Bonnie had faked her death before she came back and almost killed you. You should have seen this coming, brother."

"Thank you, Bekah," Klaus said, his tone sarcastic, "Very astute commentary. Just what I needed to hear."

"You're welcome," Rebekah said, smiling sweetly. She walked around the bar and grabbed a bottle of vodka from behind the counter. "I'm assuming that you're going to go after the doppelganger now?" she said, "Which means I'm going to be bored to death while you terrorize some small town chasing after teenagers."

"They aren't worth chasing," Klaus said, "The Gilbert girl is idiotic enough to come to me if I dangle the right bait in front of her."

"Stefan," Rebekah smirked.

Klaus nodded. "Exactly," he said, "I'll use him to get her here. This is my territory. And now that Stefan is wrapped around the little witch's finger and Bonnie has a ripper with an addiction on her hands neither of them will be here to save her."

"She won't come alone," Rebekah said, "What about the brother? He follows her around like a puppy. I've seen it in Stefan's memories."

"I'll leave that one to you," Klaus said, "It's been a while since you've tortured anyone hasn't it. About ninety years now. Have fun with him. Try out all of those lethal little tricks you learned when we were in Peru."

"I do miss watching someone writhe pain," Rebekah smiled, "And this Damon did look like a screamer."

"It's settled then," Klaus said, "And when Miss Gilbert crosses the city limits into Chicago she won't be leaving alive. This time I'll make sure of it."

 **:::**

 _Elena Gilbert walked into an unfamiliar bar, the red sign she passed flashing the name, "Gloria's". She looked around her and frowned when she saw someone who looked exactly like her sitting in a corner booth. At first she thought it was Katherine but upon closer inspection she realized that she was indeed, looking at herself._

 _It was then Elena knew that she was dreaming. Her dream self that sat in the booth appeared to be waiting for someone. It didn't take long for her to figure out who when Stefan walked into the bar._

 _She watched him and he looked almost unfamiliar to her. He seemed stiff and his face was completely blank. There was no expression in his eyes at all as he walked over to the bar and spoke to the bartender. "Where is she?" He asked._

 _Elena was sure that he was referring to her dream self. Who else could Stefan be looking for if not her?_

 _The blonde woman behind the bar frowned at him, her brown eyes narrowing as the dull light illuminated her dark skin. "In the back," the woman said, "I'll go get her."_

" _Thanks, Gloria," Stefan said, but his face was still impassive._

 _Elena became confused as she realized that it wasn't her dream self that Stefan was looking for but rather someone else. She glanced toward her dream self and realized that she had figured out the same thing when she stood up from her booth._

 _Before her dream self could make her way toward Stefan, both Elena and the version of herself that the dream had conjured up watched as Bonnie Bennett appeared from the same place that the other woman had disappeared to._

 _Bonnie looked different. More confident somehow, more sure of herself. It didn't take Elena long to realize that she was walking toward Stefan, and not only that, but as Bonnie approached him Stefan's face went from a blank mask to a blinding smile, his eyes looking at Bonnie in a way that he had never looked at Elena._

" _Hey," Bonnie said, smiling back as Stefan._

" _Hey, yourself," he replied. Elena then watched in horror as Stefan leaned over the bar counter and kissed Bonnie on the lips, his hands cupping her face gently and his tongue sliding into her mouth._

 _Elena moved to object even knowing that they wouldn't be able to see her but her dream-self beat her to the punch._

" _What the hell are you two doing?" she heard herself say, as she watched her storm over to the couple, "What's going on?"_

 _Bonnie and Stefan parted and blinked at her dream-self. "I think that's kind of self-explanatory," Stefan said._

 _Bonnie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Bonnie," the dream Elena said, "How could you?"_

 _Bonnie didn't bother to acknowledge her, keeping her eyes on Stefan. "I told you that she would be a problem?" She said._

" _I guess I'll have to solve it then," Stefan said. A moment later Elena screamed as she watched Stefan speed forward and snap her dream self's neck. Her hand covered her mouth as she watched her own body fall to the ground._

 _The scene then faded and Elena was transported to another room. A dark room with a single chair. She looked around and turned to see Klaus. "It's you isn't it," she said, "You're in my head. This isn't real."_

 _Klaus walked toward her and stood in front of her smiling, though his eyes glinted with ill intent. "Just because I'm in your head doesn't mean that it isn't real, love," he said, "Or rather that it won't be."_

" _What are you talking about?" Elena demanded, "What did you do?"_

" _Since you refused to die," Klaus said, shrugging, "I've taken the liberty of ruining your life. You see a witch's blood is addictive to vampires and it just so happens that I have exposed Stefan to Bonnie's blood. Now he just can't enough of the stuff or her. They make a pretty little couple really. And with Stefan on my side and Bonnie in his bed, it won't take much to convince him to persuade her to join my team now will it."_

" _You're lying," Elena said, shaking her head, "They wouldn't do that. Not to me."_

" _Am I lying?" Klaus asked, taking a step toward her, "Are you sure?" Elena flinched away from him as she noticed that his eyes were turning from blue to yellow and black veins began to pulse just beneath his eyes. "You know what you'll have to do to find out don't you Elena?" He said, his fangs winking at her as he spoke._

 _Elena didn't respond and his hand reached out to wrap around her throat and squeezed tightly cutting off her air supply._

" _Wake up, Elena," he grinned, "Time to come out and play."_

Elena shot up in bed, choking and gasping for air. Throwing back the covers she jumped out of bed and raced toward her bathroom, cutting on the light. Examining herself in the mirror it didn't take long for her to find the bruises around her throat that were in the shape of a hand print.

"Oh my God," she said, aloud, "It was real."

She raced back into her room and grabbed her cell phone from her nightstand. Without thinking she dialed Damon's number. Massaging her wounded throat she waited as the phone rang.

After a moment he answered. "Elena?" he said, "It's three in the morning. This had better be good."

"I know where Stefan is," Elena told him quickly, "And we have to get him before it's too late."

 **:::**

Stefan had taken up residence at his old rundown apartment. The only people who knew where he was were Klaus and Rebekah and that was only because they remembered it from their past together. Rebekah had been by more than once, trying to persuade herself back into Stefan's good graces and into his bed but the offer wasn't appealing to him. His mind was centered on Bonnie, the fact that he hadn't seen her in two days making it worse.

He wasn't giving up per se, but he didn't like rejection and so he was waiting on her come to him which was taking longer than he had hoped and also taking a toll on his mind and body. He saw her face everywhere he went, in every female that he encountered, every face that he passed. His body was also exhibiting symptoms of withdrawal, which meant that most of his hours were spent locked up alone, behind closed doors as the tremors went through his body. The only thing keeping him from going after her was looking at the list of victims that he had hidden behind the walls and imagining her name at the bottom of it. She had mentioned wanting him to fight it, and as she was the only person that he could feel any type of emotion toward he had decided to keep trying even knowing that it wouldn't work.

He sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at the far wall. He wore only a pair of jeans as with the tremors his clothes often felt constricting. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it, the waiting.

It was almost night, and he spent most of his nights killing because that took some of the edge off but he couldn't bring himself to drink anyone else's blood which was in a way a part of the problem.

A knock on the door drew his attention and he sighed. He assumed it was Rebekah back to try her hand again as she was still persistent even after ninety years had passed.

"Go away, Rebekah," he called loudly, without bothering to get up. But the knock came again a moment later causing him to frown.

Standing he walked toward the door, speaking as he went. "I told you it isn't going to happen," he said, "I don't care what you say or do it doesn't matter." He reached the door and pulled it open. "You're not…Bonnie," he said, just as he realized that was who was actually on the other side of the door.

Bonnie gave him a once over as she leaned against the door frame. "Can I come in?" She asked, after a moment.

Nodding Stefan moved to the side and allowed her to enter before closing the door behind her. He watched as she walked into his apartment and looked around her. "What are you doing here?" He asked, even as his entire being seemed to scream with relief at seeing her.

"I hadn't seen you in a couple of days," Bonnie said, turning to face him again, "I thought I would come check on you."

"The witch worried about the ripper," Stefan said, with a bitter laugh, "That's funny."

Bonnie didn't say anything, instead kicking off her flip flops and walking around as if she had always been in his space. "This place is a hovel," Bonnie said, "It's not even really split up into rooms. I expected something less small and creepy."

"How'd you find me?" Stefan asked, deciding not to pay attention to the insult.

"Gloria," she said, "I think that she was hoping that I would kill you when I got here since I couldn't find a solution to our little problem."

Stefan crossed his arms over his chest and studied her. "Are you here to kill me?" He asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I won't lie and say that I didn't think about it," she said, "It's probably a good thing that you stayed away."

Stefan walked around and went over to sit on the edge of his bed once more. She surprised him by sitting down next to him.

"Why did you stay away?" She asked.

"Because you wanted me to," Stefan said, closing his eyes, "Even when I'm like this I think about what you want before I think about what I want. It's the blood I think. It does things to me, to my mind."

"But you need it," Bonnie said. Even now he seemed to be restraining himself. She could tell by the tension in his frame.

"It isn't just a matter of me needing your blood, Bonnie," Stefan said, his tone serious, "I need you in order to function." He turned to her looking her in the eyes to make sure that there was no way that she could dismiss what he was saying. "The further away I am from you," he told her, "The less time I spend with you, the more out of touch with reality I am. If you think I'm dangerous now, imagine me in couple more days. I've killed at least twelve people since the last time I saw you just to take the edge off of some of the irritation I feel when you're not near me. It's taking all my willpower not to chain you to something just so that I can keep you here."

Bonnie shook her head, running a hand over her face. "God," she muttered, "This is so fucked up." He reached out to touch her hand but she snatched it away before he made contact. "I can't do this," she sighed, "This isn't healthy. What do you want me to do? Give you blood and fuck you just so you don't feel the need to kill the next person that passes you on the street? That's insane. I want to help you…I do. We were friends once…I guess but this…this wouldn't be helping this would be enabling you."

"I don't care," Stefan shrugged. And he didn't, as long as he got what he wanted it didn't matter to him if he stayed reliant on Bonnie's blood for the rest of his existence. It didn't matter to him if he ever got back to the person that he had been. It had all been a lie anyway.

Klaus had been right about him attempting to hide his true nature, at least in terms of Elena. It was people like Lexi and even Damon who knew him and loved him anyway. But even they had wanted him to change, he had wanted to change. But not anymore, not in this case. This, his addiction to Bonnie's blood and all that it entailed, was something that he wanted to keep because it gave him her.

Everything he had ever admired about her, he could have it this way, and because she was so selfless she would give it to him even if it meant going down the rabbit hole with him.

"I do care," she said, "I want you to be okay, Stefan, I do. But not like this."

"Then why are you here?" He asked, pointedly. She looked away from him and he grabbed her chin turning her head until she was facing him again. "Why are you here, Bonnie?" He repeated.

"I don't know," she said, tears rimming her eyes.

"Yes," Stefan said, unwilling to let up, "You do." His gaze was unrelenting as he continued to push for the answer that he already saw in her eyes. "Why are you here?" He whispered.

"Because I'm an idiot," Bonnie said, fidgeting with her hands, "And I want to help you even if it means enabling you and putting myself in the middle of this fucked up situation. Because that's what I do, I save people. I sacrifice myself and I can't stop. Which probably makes me as twisted as you in some ways and I…I wish that that was the only reason I was here but it's not."

A few tears began to fall as she twisted her face out of his grip. "You were right," she said, looking out of a nearby window, "What you said before. I've thought about you…in that way. I didn't want to but I liked the way you made me feel. The things you keep saying, it makes me feel wanted and needed. No matter how much I do, or how hard I try I've never felt that from anyone. No one's really talked to me all summer. That's why I've been trying so hard to access my powers again because what would anyone want me for outside of that?"

It was a bitter sweet moment for Stefan. Having her there the way that he wanted, but then realizing how far she had been driven from the girl she had been, how very broken she was. "Bonnie," he started, but stopped when she shook her head.

"It's okay," she said, "I feel better when I'm with you. I meant it when I said you made me feel needed. You said it wasn't just my blood. You needed to be near me. To see me. To hear my voice. Did you mean it?"

"Yeah," Stefan nodded, "I mean it. Everything I am revolves around you. I can't help that."

"Good," Bonnie said, smiling a broken sort of smile, "Because I want to do something selfish, and reckless, and stupid and not have to think about the consequences."

Everyone else got to and most of the time they got a free pass. Why was it that she had to sacrifice the most and then be held up to the highest standard? Her friends had left her isolated and without any communication all summer, even Jeremy had barely spoken to her. Could they really blame her for this when they found out? Would she care if they did?

"Well," Stefan grinned, his words breaking into her thoughts. "That's a first."

"That's another reason why I'm here," she said, wiping the tears from her face, "I wouldn't have bothered to say all of those things if I didn't want to make sure that you knew that I'm not doing this for you. Not entirely. I'm doing this for me too."

"And by this you mean what exactly?" Stefan asked his tone leading.

He watched as Bonnie stood, pulling the tank top that she was wearing over her head and tossing it aside. "You know," she laughed, though there was more nervousness than humor in it, "Giving you blood, and maybe one day if you behave I'll let you in my bed for something other than feeding and pressure points. Classic enabling behavior."

Stefan stood as well, sliding is fingers through the belt loops of her shorts and using them to tug her forward until she fell against him. "I'm glad that you finally found your motivation to be selfish," he said.

"What was yours?" she asked, "I mean you've taken a turn toward martyrdom yourself. What made you stop?"

"Different things at different times," he answered, "But mostly blood." He leaned forward so that he could whisper into her ear. "But right now," he said, "Right now it's you."

 **:::**

Jeremy Gilbert didn't know how he had been roped into a road trip to Chicago but before he knew it he, Elena, and Damon were in some Chicago bar waiting for any signs of Bonnie or Stefan. When Elena had told them about her dream Jeremy thought she was going crazy and Damon thought that it was some kind of trap Klaus had set up to lure her out. However, Elena wouldn't rest until they looked in on the situation.

The witch that owned the bar was being closed mouthed though Damon was sure that she knew something. Gloria, her name was and apparently Damon had some kind of history with her. it was how they had found the bar in the first place. As soon as Elena had described her dream to him Damon had known exactly where to look. But it seemed to Jeremy to be a dead end. Still the fact that she wouldn't tell them anything had convinced Damon that there was something to tell and so they had been sitting at the bar for the pass hour.

Jeremy hadn't seen Vicki's ghost since leaving Mystic Falls and he was beginning to miss her, particularly since he had figured out a way to touch her just before he left. He knew that it was wrong as he hadn't ended things with Bonnie but he hadn't just been in love with Vicki he had been obsessed with her and that obsession was creeping back in on him the more time that he spent with her ghost. While he cared about Bonnie and didn't want to lose her, he couldn't let go of Vicki either.

"Can't we just call it a night?" Jeremy asked, looking from Damon to his sister, "I mean there's obviously no sign of them. For all we know Bonnie's shift is already done and over with, if she even really works here. I don't understand why we came all this way just because Elena had some dream."

In truth the dream had been accurate so far, about the bar, about the owner. The only thing they hadn't been able to confirm yet were the accusations in regards to Stefan and Bonnie.

Elena sighed, but stood. "Fine," she said, "We'll try again tomorrow." It would have been easier if Bonnie was answering her cell phone or the emails they had sent. But since they hadn't really attempted to contact her much over the summer before now, Elena couldn't really say that she was surprised that they were being ignored. "Let's just go," she sighed.

"I think we should give it another hour," Damon said, his eyes on Gloria, "Something is definitely going on here."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and stood. "Whatever," he said, "Look I'm going to go get some air. It smells like smoke and sweat in here. I'll be back."

When Damon and Elena nodded, Jeremy left the bar. He stopped just outside and inhaled the night air. Though, given that there were drunks smoking and loitering outside, it wasn't that much better than inside.

He was just about to return to the bar when the sound of familiar laughter drew his attention. His eyes roamed the parking lot until he caught sight of Bonnie. He smiled when he saw her, but his face fell immediately as soon as he saw who was standing next to her, Stefan Salvatore.

"I have to go to work," he heard, Bonnie say.

"You don't have to," was Stefan's response, "You can stay with me. I'll give you a job to do. It'll be a lot more fun and I'll even pay you if you want."

"That's disgusting," Bonnie glared, but Jeremy knew her well enough to know that she was teasing more so than she was offended.

"Fine," Stefan said, "Go to work. But I'm going to be watching you the whole time."

"The sign on the front says, no loitering for a reason, Stefan," Bonnie frowned, "Besides you'll have to get used to sharing my time with other people. I get it, my blood makes you clingy, but you have to adapt."

"You don't get it," Stefan said, bluntly, "You've never felt it so I don't expect you to. But this isn't about me being clingy, Bonnie. This is about you being mine, your blood, your body, everything. I'm not going to share you with anyone, ever, in any way."

His tone was so matter of fact and Bonnie looked as uncertain as Jeremy was scared for her. Still Bonnie stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to Stefan's lips. "I'll see you when I get off, okay?" She said, as she pulled back.

Stefan nodded, kissing her again once more before he allowed her to walk away. She headed around the back of the bar toward the employee entrance not catching sight of Jeremy as she passed.

As Jeremy watched her trying to process the fact that Elena's dream had been true, he didn't realize that Stefan had spotted him and was walking toward him, until the vampire stopped in front of him.

"Jeremy Gilbert," Stefan said, his tone almost fond, "Long time no see. Let's walk."

Jeremy paid no attention to the friendliness in Stefan's tone, he only saw the emptiness in the vampire's eyes, the stiffness in his frame, and the lack of expression on his face. Still when Stefan began to walk toward his car Jeremy followed. He didn't feel as if he had a choice. This Stefan was unpredictable and at the very least he had his ring for protection in case things went south.

By the time they reached Stefan's car Jeremy realized that they were out of eye and earshot of the other patrons that were lurking outside of the bar.

"You can't have her," Stefan said, causing Jeremy to look at him, "I won't let you take her from me."

"Who?" Jeremy asked, shaking his head, "Bonnie?"

Stefan grabbed him by the throat with both hands his eyes becoming shifty and manic. "Don't ever say her name again," he growled lowly, "Don't look at her. Don't think about her. She's _mine_. Do you understand?"

"Stefan," Jeremy said, clawing at the hands around his throat, "You don't have to do this. This isn't you. You're sick. It's the blood. Elena's here. Damon's here. We want to help you."

Stefan laughed in a way that made Jeremy tremble. "You don't know anything," he said, his voice sounded so calm and rational that Jeremy became even more unsettled, "I don't need help. I _need_ her. I like you, Jer, I do. But I can't let anyone take her from me. Not you and not anyone else." Jeremy almost felt relief when Stefan's grip loosened on his throat, thinking that he might have a chance to fight or run, but then the next words that left Stefan's lips made his fear come crashing down on him once more. "You should've run when you had the chance," Stefan said.

A moment later, Stefan snapped his neck watching as his body fell to the ground. He opened the trunk of his car and continued to speak to Jeremy as if the boy could hear him. "Don't worry, Jer," he said, "I promise not to have too much fun with you before I kill you. But I can't make this easy. Won't be painless either. She cried for you, all because you couldn't answer your damn phone all summer. I'm sorry kid, but you're going to have to pay for that."

He lifted Jeremy's body and tossed him unceremoniously into the open trunk, laughing at the loud thud it made. "But since I want you out of the way before Bonnie realizes you're here," Stefan said, "By the time I do kill you it'll be quick and relatively painless."

He reached down and took Jeremy's face into his hands, using his fingers to turn the unconscious boy's lips up into a smile.

"I thought that would make you happy," he said, patting Jeremy's cheek fondly, "Now I don't have any seatbelts back here so you're just going to have to hold on for the ride. I promise not to drive too fast."

He slammed the trunk and sighed. Walking around the car he climbed into the driver's side and shut the door. It had gotten to the point that any time away from Bonnie was sending his head into very dark places. He had however, become rather good at hiding his instability. But seeing Jeremy had set him off. He was a threat, one Stefan would have to eliminate before Bonnie knew that it was present.

"Ah, the things we do for love, Stefan," he said to himself. As he started the car, he thought about what Klaus would say if he knew what Stefan was up to. He would chastise him and tell him that if he went around killing people over a woman and not just for fun, that people would think that he had gone soft. Smirking Stefan decided that he would kill someone for sport after he took care of Jeremy, just so that things would even themselves out.


	3. Stage Three: Rehabilitation

**Title:** Thirst

 **Rating:** M

 **Genre:** AU/AH/Supernatural/Horror

 **Pairing(s):** Bonnie/Stefan

 **Summary:** Not many are aware of the addictive qualities of a witch's blood. Klaus is, and he knows just what it could do to Stefan Salvatore in his ripper state. However, when his plan to drive Stefan to drain Bonnie Bennett dry and thereby eliminating his greatest foe and pushing Stefan over the edge backfires, no one is prepared of the consequences.

 **Warnings:** Language, Character Death, Violence, Torture, Non-Canon, Sexual Content, Dub-con, etc.

 **Stefonnie Appreciation Week Theme:** Day Two (Going Dark)

 **Stage Three** ∥ **Rehabilitation**

" _Every addiction is a good thing gone bad-desire gone awry."_ ~ Sharon Hersh

Bonnie Bennett walked into _Gloria's_ and was surprised to find Damon and Elena sequestered together at a table in the corner. She glanced over at Gloria where she stood behind the bar and raised an eyebrow at her in question. Gloria shrugged.

Sighing Bonnie walked over to their table and pasted on a fake smile. She thought that she would feel some guilt or remorse upon seeing Elena, and though she did, it was mild in comparison to the agitation that she felt.

She frowned at the look on Elena's face. It was clear that her friend was suspicious and Bonnie wondered as she drew closer, how much Elena knew about what was going. She made the mental decision to play dumb until she knew all the facts about why Elena was there.

"Elena," she said, as she stopped in front of the table, "This is…unexpected."

Elena blinked at her still not smiling. "I'm sure it is," she said, "So have you seen Stefan around?"  
Bonnie frowned, her facial expression taking on one of mock confusion. "Stefan?" she said, "No why?"

Elena sighed. "You don't have to lie Bonnie," Elena said, "We already know that he's here. That he's been here for a while. What I don't understand is why you wouldn't tell me?"

Bonnie bit her lip and looked away, trying to think of a plausible excuse besides the fact that a part of her hadn't wanted Elena to know. "I didn't want you involved," Bonnie said, after a while, her answer somewhat honest, "Klaus is here and so is his sister. They've been trying to figure out why his hybrids are dying. I knew that if you knew Stefan was here that you would come running and Klaus would figure out that you were alive. At least that's what I thought would happen and considering you're here I guess it did."

Elena gave her a skeptical look. "So you were trying to protect me," she said, "That sounds like you."

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming along?" Bonnie asked.

Elena opened her mouth and Damon held up his hand. "Look, witchy," Damon said, "Klaus tried to lure Elena here with some bogus stunt. Clearly he was messing with her head so it doesn't even warrant mentioning. Just sit down and tell us what you know about my little brother while we wait for Baby Gilbert to come back."

Bonnie frowned. "Jeremy's here?" She asked, looking in between the two but not sitting down.

"Yeah," Elena said, her face growing suspicious again, "We thought you would be happy to see him, you know after being away from him all summer."

"Where is he?" Bonnie asked, ignoring the nastiness in her tone.

"He just stepped outside to get some air," Damon said, confused by the worried expression on Bonnie's face. "Just before you came in actually.

Bonnie's face fell. "Shit," she muttered. She had just left Stefan and his last words to her made her think the worse. He said he wouldn't share her with anyone and if he had seen Jeremy. "How long has he been gone?" Bonnie asked, before shaking her head. "You know what forget it," she said, "We have to go and we have to go now."

Elena stood from the table at the same moment that Damon did. "What's going on?" She asked.

Bonnie looked in between the two, resigned to telling the truth finally. At least partially. "I lied to you," she said, "About Stefan but you know that. What you don't know is that Klaus got him addicted to my blood. I don't want to go into details it's a long story. But I've been giving him blood, at least until we could find a solution. I thought it was the right thing to do and it would be temporary. But he's been getting…I just left him and if he saw Jeremy there's a chance he might think that he wants to convince me to stop giving him blood and that he'll hurt Jeremy before he gets the chance."

"What?" Elena spat, "Why would you think giving him your blood was a good idea? You know how he is about control? You only made his addiction worse. What the hell were you thinking?"

Any remorse Bonnie had been feeling flew out the window. The girl wasn't upset about Bonnie giving Stefan blood because it was dangerous for her and Stefan could have easily killed her, no, she was upset because of Stefan. It was always about Stefan, when it wasn't about Damon, or when it wasn't about Elena. Clearly no one else mattered anymore. Bonnie wanted to scream that Stefan wanted more than her blood but she held her tongue. "It was either that or let him drain me dry," Bonnie said, "Or kill him. So what would you have had me do Elena?"

Bonnie's voice was so cold that Elena barely recognized it. Swallowing and deciding to pick her battles Elena changed the subject. "Whatever," she said, "Let's just go and find Jeremy."

Bonnie turned to Damon her face all business. "I hope you brought some kind of weapon with you because you are going to need it," she said.

"What do you mean?" Damon said.

"Stefan isn't himself right now," Bonnie said, "A witch's blood has the power to drive a vampire insane. That was why I've been trying to find a cure or something. If Stefan is where I think he is, and doing what I think he's doing, we're going to have to at the very least knock him out and tie him up or Jeremy is as good as dead."

"Then what do we do?" Elena said, looking at Damon.

Damon looked at Bonnie, not taking his eyes off her even when Elena spoke. "We get Bonnie the hell out of dodge before he drains her," he said, "And then I'm going to dry him out."

"What about me?" Elena asked.

"This isn't about you Elena," Damon said, "At least not until Klaus shows up. Right now we worry about making sure my brother doesn't kill your brother and making sure witchy here lives to make sarcastic remarks at me another day."

Bonnie shook her head as she began to walk out of the bar and the other two followed behind her. "Wow, Damon," she said, "Didn't know you cared whether I lived or died."

"Yeah, well," Damon said, giving her a sideways glance, "Neither did I."

 **:::**

Stefan Salvatore licked the blood from the carving knife as he pulled it from Jeremy's stomach. "Not bad," Stefan said, "Not as good as Bonnie's but not bad." The boy had died and come back three times already and still Stefan had yet to get bored.

"Yeah, well," Jeremy said, his voice labored as his wound continued to bleed, "She always did have a soft spot for you, didn't she?"

Stefan laughed, twirling the knife around in his hand. "In a manner of speaking," he said, "Now it's a little more than that, which is why I can't have you in the way."

"Whatever this is with you and her," Jeremy said, "Do you really think that it's going to last? You're obviously not yourself and she knows that. Besides, what about Elena?"

"What about her?" Stefan shrugged, "I would kill you and Elena and Damon and whoever else got in the way of Bonnie and I being together. She's mine."

"She isn't property," Jeremy spat.

"Maybe not," Stefan said, "But I'm in her head. I'm in her loyal little heart. I am the only one who she'll willingly let get a taste of her blood and she is this close to giving me her body. So what else would you call it?"

Jeremy's mouth shut and pinched into a thin line.

"That's what I thought," Stefan said. Finally, growing bored Stefan reached forward and snapped Jeremy's neck.

Just as the boy lost consciousness there was pounding on the door. Stefan didn't bother to get up from his seat in front of Jeremy as his brother kicked the door in and he heard Damon and Elena storm inside. He only stiffened when he felt Bonnie's presence with them.

He stood and turned toward the mini crowd his eyes falling on Bonnie. "I know this might not seem like it now, Bonnie," he said, calmly, "But killing Jeremy is for the best."

Bonnie looked from him to Jeremy and back again. "Listen to me Stefan," she said, "Just back away from him. We'll untie him and then we'll let him and Elena, and Damon just go home."

Stefan shook his head. "I know you are naïve, sweetheart," he said, "but you can't think these idiots are just going to leave. They are going to be a problem for us. They want to take you away from me and I'm not going to let that happen."

Bonnie opened her mouth to refute his claim but Elena cut her off. "Stefan," Elena said, moving in front of Bonnie, her eyes pleading, "You don't have to do this. I know this isn't you. It's Bonnie's blood. But we can fix this. We could get it all back. All you have to do is remember our love, remember how much I believe in you."

"It would be easier for you if it were just her blood wouldn't it?" Stefan said, "It's not though. She tastes better than you by the way. Not just her blood either. Her mouth too, and she really knows how to work her tongue. I haven't talked her into it yet, but I bet other parts of her body tastes better too."

"You're lying," Elena said, "You're just trying to hurt me but I forgive you."

Stefan turned his attention back to Bonnie. "Am I lying, Bonnie?" He asked. Bonnie shifted uncomfortably as Stefan tossed the knife he had from one hand to the other.

"That's enough, little brother," Damon said, intervening before what he could tell would be an awkward confrontation took place.

"I know why you're here," Stefan said, "But I don't need you. I don't need anyone but Bonnie. That's it."

Bonnie stepped forward deciding to take a different tactic. "And they understand that Stefan," she said. Elena opened her mouth to object, but Damon glared at her, causing her mouth to snap shut. "I already talked to them," she said, "They just want Jeremy and then they'll leave."

"No," Stefan said, shaking his head, "You're just saying that because you still want him. You still love him and you want to leave me."

Bonnie grabbed his face in her hands and forced him to meet her eyes. "No," she said, "That's not what this is. I don't want anyone else. Just you." She slowly reached down with one hand, keeping the other hand on his face. "I'm not going anywhere I promise," she whispered.

Stefan leaned forward, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead against hers. As she gently took the knife from his hands he allowed it. "You know I can't do this without you," he said, "You know that."

Bonnie nodded, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "I know," she said, "And you won't have to. I promise." She sighed in relief as she finally took the knife from his hand. "I want you to be okay," she said, "You're okay when you're with me. So why would I leave, huh?"

The plan was to distract Stefan with her blood so that Damon could shoot him with the crossbow he had hidden behind his back and so Bonnie let her hand drop from Stefan's face and then took the knife in her other hand and slid it across her palm until she drew blood. She looked up to see the familiar starved look in his eyes.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen but she knew that it had to end there, that they had to end there. It was one thing to put herself at risk but, no matter how over their relationship Bonnie was, she didn't want to get Jeremy hurt or anyone else, let alone get them killed.

Bonnie opened her mouth to say the words that she meant but she knew that she would regret later, even if they were a part of the plan. "I love you, Stefan," she whispered, "Let me take care of you." She put her palm up to lips in offering but frowned a moment later when he gently pushed her hand away. Instead he leaned over and captured her mouth with his. She knew then, that it wasn't just about the blood, not anymore.

Still she knew that he couldn't go on like this. Damon thought that he could help Stefan and so she would have to let him even if it meant letting him go. Just as Stefan's tongue swept past her lips Bonnie took the knife in her hands and plunged it into Stefan's stomach. He pulled away from her his eyes wide with surprise and betrayal, but before he could react Bonnie switched their positions and Damon shot Stefan with the crossbow in his back.

 **:::**

Bonnie watched as Damon chained his brother to the chair that had housed Jeremy before Elena had released him and she and Bonnie had made sure his wounds were healed. They had sent him back to Mystic Falls on his own, in Elena's car, Damon's still being available to him and Elena. Jeremy hadn't really looked at Bonnie which didn't surprise her. It was over between them she knew. The end of their relationship had been abrupt and unspoken but it was over just the same.

Bonnie stood in the doorway to Stefan's apartment and watched as Damon walked toward her. Elena had not spoken a word to her but Bonnie found that she didn't care. Damon had spoken long enough to tell her that Jeremy had spent the summer talking to the ghost of his ex-girlfriend which was why he hadn't called or emailed, so she shouldn't feel bad about making out with and enabling his brother. Bonnie wasn't sure whether he meant well or not but chose not to comment one way or the other.

She found herself too worried about Stefan to care about finally having a reason for spending the summer not hearing from her now ex-boyfriend. She was happy that Jeremy was alive and hoped one day they would be able to get through the awkwardness enough to talk about what had happened and move on and be friends but they obviously didn't trust each other enough to tell each other the truth, and weren't attached enough to each other not to want to spend time with anyone else so Bonnie was pretty sure that that was that.

"So what now?" Bonnie said, as Damon stopped in front of her.

"Like I said," Damon said, "We dry him out. Get your blood out of his system and start him fresh on a no witch diet."

Bonnie frowned. "Will he be back to normal then?" She asked.

Damon shrugged. "Maybe," he said, "Then again maybe not. I could better gauge his reaction if he had his emotions on."

"Oh," Bonnie said, scuffing the ground with her shoe. She glanced over at Stefan, looking away as Elena sat down in front of him and took his hand. "What happens if he doesn't?" Bonnie asked, "Turn his emotions back on I mean?"

"Truth?" Damon asked. He sighed, when she nodded. "We might not ever get him back again and this whole thing might start all over."

Bonnie seemed to be deep in thought, and then abruptly she stood up right. "I have to go," Bonnie said.

"Where are you going?" Damon asked.

"To make sure this doesn't start all over again," Bonnie said, "I'll be back when I can. Just take care of him, okay?"

Damon nodded, and then considered her a moment. "Did you mean what you said before?" Damon asked, glancing over at Elena before lowering his voice, "About loving him?"

"I don't know," Bonnie frowned, "I think so."

"Then maybe you should back off," Damon said, "If you love him then you want him with you right? If you do whatever it is you're about to do to get him to turn his emotions back on then there's a chance he won't want to be with you, that he'll go back to Elena."

Bonnie shrugged. "I might have managed to be selfish enough to carry this along this long," Bonnie said, "But I'm not you Damon. I'm not trying to take advantage of him being vulnerable and unable to think and choose for himself. This isn't Stefan and I want him to be okay, I don't care if it's with or without me. I don't even care if he comes back the way he was or if he decides to embrace the ripper. Whatever, as long as he's lucid and can function on his own. As long as he isn't going around killing people in my name. I'm not the one that matters right now, he is."

Before Damon could say anything else Bonnie left without looking back.

 **:::**

Klaus wasn't surprised when the witch sought him out. He figured that she would once she found out that she knew that he knew that Elena was alive. As he opened the door to his haunt for her he was sure that it was Gloria who had told her where she could find him.

He watched her walk in before he closed the door behind her. "Here to bargain for the doppelganger's life are you?" He asked, as he turned to her.

She had stopped in the hall just before reaching the living room. "No," she said, turning to face him, "She isn't really my problem anymore. Besides that…I know you won't kill until you know that that's what needs to be done to create your little army."

Klaus smirked as he walked up to her. "You know," he said, "If you weren't so very you I would think that you were acting out of selfishness. I mean normally you would be up in arms at the very idea of me killing Elena but now that you've taken up with Stefan you seem to be okay with the idea."

Bonnie chose to ignore his implication and to move forward with what she had come for. The reason why Elena wasn't an issue was not that she didn't care about her, but because Gloria had already told her that if the sacrifice had allowed Elena to live while still letting Klaus unleash his werewolf side, that it was likely that Elena would need to be alive to make his hybrids.

"That's actually what I'm here about," Bonnie said, "Stefan. I need you to fix him. The others are working on drying him out but I need you to make sure he turns his emotions back on."

"Why would I do that?" Klaus asked. "I mean he's so much more fun this way. You seemed to think so too up until recently so I'm guessing that Stefan is at the stage where he wants you dead."

Bonnie shook her head. "He still hasn't tried to kill me so your full proof plan didn't work," Bonnie said, "But he almost killed Jeremy and he threatened to go after Elena and Damon tonight and I'm not going to have blood on my hands every time that someone looks at me and Stefan decides they need to die because he thinks they want to take me away from him."

"Considering how isolated you normally are," he laughed, "I thought you might like the attention." Bonnie looked down and Klaus studied her. "But you do don't you?" he pressed, "And that's the real problem isn't it?" He walked up to Bonnie stopping just a few inches away from her. Leaning down he whispered into her ear, "But it isn't my problem, little witch, it's yours."

"This isn't about the attention," Bonnie said, "I care about him. I want him to be okay."

"Tell yourself whatever you need to in order to sleep at night," he said, "But it's still not my problem."

Bonnie looked him in the eyes as he stood upright. "And you expect him to go back to being your friend," Bonnie said, "To even give a damn about you. _You_ got him into this. Turned him into something twisted and dependent on me and you won't even lift a finger to help him."

Bonnie blinked as she found herself pinned to the nearest wall by her wrists as Klaus loomed over her. "You know what I find funny about you," he said, his voice low, "Is that even now you can act so above it all when you are in the thick of it. You _are_ it. You think I'm scum and that's understandable. But _what are you_? You could have told someone, could have gotten him help before now. You didn't have to let this go this far. But you did. Because part of you likes the fact that he would kill for you. That he has. That his every waking thought is about you, about fucking you, about tasting you. You love it that he would burn the world down just for one drop of your blood. And that frightens you because if _you_ , the pure and pristine and loyal little _Bonnie_ , can fall for someone so _twisted_ as you put it, then that means that there is no real hope for the others surviving this big bad world without succumbing to the darkness too, now doesn't it?"

Bonnie struggled against him but he wouldn't let her get away. There was truth in what he was saying and all of her wanted to run from it. "Fuck you," she hissed.

"You would wouldn't you?" Klaus smiled, "If you were given the chance. My sister seems to think that if this had happened to anyone but Stefan that that person would be dead by now by your hands but I tend to disagree. It isn't just about Stefan, it's the darkness that appeals to you. The danger that you are too scared to admit that you crave. Why else would you come to me for help? You could have asked Gloria. You could have trusted that drying him out would be enough but instead you came here to make a deal with the devil. Why? Because you were so desperate to help Stefan? _No._ I think it's because you knew that once he was back to himself that there would be no darkness, no obsession, no insanity, and no _excitement_. So now you want to trade the demon for the devil is that it?"

"Let me go," Bonnie said, unwilling to meet his gaze.

This had been a stupid plan from the beginning. Now not only was she not getting the help that Stefan needed, but she was being forced to face things that she had never in a million years wanted to face. She had grown to like being selfish and reckless. But she couldn't do it alone, she had needed an excuse. Someone to escalate the situation and blame her behavior on. And as much as she wanted Stefan for Stefan, as much as she really did care about him, he had been that escalator as well. Enabling her in a different way than she had been enabling him. Without that she would have to go back to being the selfless martyr and that was part of the reason she had decided to seek Klaus out in the first place.

"Oh no," Klaus said, shaking his head, "I'm not letting you go. Not now that I know the truth. I've stayed away from you for this long because I thought you were too strong, too moral, too loyal, to turn to my side. But I was wrong before. You are far more corruptible than I ever imagined and I find that _fascinating_. Underneath that hard shell there's a vulnerability that begs to be preyed upon. You're practically pleading to be tainted, and I think that I am the man for the job. So….I'm going to help you with Stefan."

"What?" Bonnie asked, confused by his suddenly agreeing to help.

Klaus nodded. "On one condition," he said, "I will force Stefan to flip his switch if need be. I'm very good at getting into people's heads you see. I'll even let him go and he can go back to his boring existence of pretending to be something that he's not while he risks his life saving a girl that the universe obviously wants to die. I will do all of that, but only if you agree to make a trade."

"A trade?" Bonnie asked, frowning.

"You," Klaus said, "For Stefan. He might be above my influence for now but you are not. I will be leaving Chicago as soon as I figure out whether or not I need to kill your little friend and I will be in need of a witch. I would ask Gloria but she isn't very nice. You'll be nice to me, won't you Bonnie, especially now that I don't want you dead?"

Bonnie considered her options. She had come willing to give herself over to him for Stefan if necessary and it appeared to be necessary. But she hadn't expected him to read her so easily. If she went into this she knew she wouldn't be coming out of it the same person. "I won't sleep with you," she said, "Just spells every now and then."

"Agreed," Klaus said, "You won't sleep with me unless you want to. But I don't plan on using you, not entirely. I want to teach you, but you have to be willing to learn. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal," Bonnie nodded, sighing in relief as he let her go.

"That's isn't exactly how I seal my deals," Klaus said, still hovering over her, "At least not with witches."

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked, rolling her eyes, "A handshake?"

Klaus shook his head. "Not exactly," he said. Before Bonnie could process what was happening he leaned down and kissed her gently on lips. He pulled back so quickly that she was sure she had imagined it. "Welcome to the dark side, little witch," he said, as he stood upright, "I think you're going to like it here."

 **:::**

Stefan Salvatore had been chained to the chair in his small apartment for two weeks. He was finally dry, he had not ingested a drop of blood, nor had he seen Bonnie. His thoughts at the very least were clear now, more lucid. But still he hadn't turned on his emotions. Not when his brother pleaded with him, and not when Elena begged.

He knew that when he did that he would feel the guilt about Elena, about Damon, and about what he had put Bonnie through. But that was not the reason that he refused. He just knew that were Bonnie able to be with him, she would have been there. He was certain that something had happened to her, that Klaus had killed her while Stefan was getting dried out and that more than anything was his motive for keeping his emotions off. If he turned them on the grief over Bonnie would likely kill him.

Stefan sighed in relief as Damon finally took the chains off of him. He smiled as his brother when he tossed a blood back in his lap. Stefan took it, and opened it, drinking from it slowly. Even after being dried out it didn't taste as good as it had to him before, nothing would after Bonnie.

"You haven't had blood in two weeks," Damon said, "I thought you'd be practically salivating and bursting at the seams to get into that bag."

Stefan shrugged. "Nothing tastes as good as Bonnie," he said, seriously, "I mean that's one good thing that came out of this right? I can moderate my intake now. I'm not as crazed about it now. Now that I know how good it can really be everything else just seems mediocre."

"Yeah," Damon said, sitting down on the bed in front of his chair, "But are you still crazed about witchy?"

"Would you be happy if I was?" Stefan asked, "I mean you wanted me to get over Elena right?"

Damon nodded. "I did," he said, "But not if it puts Bonnie in harm's way. I'm not an idiot Stefan, I know that a part of you wanted to kill her. To drain her dry."

"I didn't know you cared about her enough to concern yourself about her safety, brother," Stefan laughed. When Damon just looked at him, he sighed and drained the rest of the blood bag. "I still want her," he said, "But it isn't the same."

"Then explain it to me," Damon said, "We've got time." He was still confused about the situation and since he hadn't seen Bonnie since she had left to get Stefan help he didn't get a chance to grill her. Instead he had been stuck with Elena going between jealous ranting and deluding herself into thinking that Stefan would come running back to her once he regained his emotions.

"I don't know how to," he said, "I mean…to have someone that selfless willing to give all of themselves to you is just…addicting within itself I guess. She just kept giving, her body, her blood, and she never made me feel like shit for wanting it, for wanting her. I thought about it before, what it would be like with her. Not enough to do anything about it but it crossed my mind. But now that I know….now that I know what it's like to have her….I don't want to go back to anything else."

Damon gave him a measured look. He chose not to address the situation outside of listening to what Stefan was going through. He didn't really understand and he was being forced to question and reevaluate Stefan's relationship with Bonnie from the very beginning and he was discovering that something had always been there just beneath the surface. "Meaning that you don't want to go back to Elena," he said, "Which is all well and fine with me, believe me but…how is all of this going to play out when you flip your switch back on?"

"That's what I would like to know too," a voice said from the doorway, causing them to turn. Stefan frowned as Elena walked over to the bed across from him and sat down next to Damon. "Look Stefan," she said, "I'm willing to forgive this thing with Bonnie. You didn't know any better. You had an addiction. She was enabling you which is just wrong. She isn't the person that I thought she was but that doesn't matter." She placed her hands over Stefan's and smiled at him. "What matters is this, us. I still believe in us Stefan and I know when you feel something when you let your emotions back in that you will too."

Stefan frowned pulling his hands away from her. "This thing with me and Bonnie," he said, "Isn't just some aberration that you can just dismiss. It happened and it isn't over just because you want it to be. I want her. I care about her and I don't need my emotions to do it. I can't say the same thing about you. That should tell you something."

"It tells me," Elena said, "That her blood still has some type of hold over you and that we need to keep trying."

Stefan frowned. "I don't just want her blood Elena," he said, refusing to back down, "Actually I realize now that I can't have her blood and I'm fine with that. What I want now is different. _I'm_ different Elena. She saw me at my darkest moments and accepted me. She was willing to get me help even knowing that having her blood out of my system could mean that I wouldn't want her and I wouldn't want to see her again. But she cared more about _me,_ than whether or not I was with her, you don't, not really. You can't just be happy that I'm getting over this addiction to Bonnie's blood, you have to make it about you. You have to make it about our relationship. And it doesn't really surprise me, you've always been like this. It's just now without my emotions clouding things I can see that."

"You said you don't want her blood," Elena said, her eyes brimming with tears, "Then what is it about her that you like. What makes her so much better than me?"

Damon sighed, at the same time that Stefan rolled his eyes. "She actually listens to me for one," he said. He looked over at Damon. "Have you heard from Bonnie lately?" He asked. When he shook his head, Stefan frowned. "I need more blood," he said, "If she hasn't shown up yet then Klaus has probably done something to her. I'm going to need my strength up if I'm going to confront him."  
Damon tossed him another blood bag just as there was a knock on the door. It opened a moment later and Klaus walked in. They all immediately sat upright and Klaus looked at them amused. "I come in peace," he said, "Mostly, anyway."

Stefan ignored him. "Where's Bonnie?" he demanded, "Have you done something with her?"

"No," Klaus stated, "Not yet. But I would be willing to tell you her whereabouts if you do a couple of things for me."

"What do you want?" Stefan asked, as he opened up the second blood bag and began to down it.

"First," Klaus said, "I'll have to explain why I haven't yet killed the doppelganger. It would seem that I need her alive after all. You see my witch has informed me that the reason my hybrids have been dying is because they need Miss Gilbert's blood in order to transition. So I will need to procure some from her, it could even be done in the safety of a hospital facility if you wish."

Stefan and Damon shared a look. They both seemed to be of the same mind. Better Elena's blood than her life and they needed to find out where Bonnie was before it was too late and something happened to her. "Done," Stefan and Damon said at the same time.

Elena opened her mouth to object but Stefan held up his hand. "What else do you want?" He asked.

Klaus paused, rubbing his hands together. "I want you to turn your emotions back on," he said, "I want you to feel every ounce of guilt when I tell you where the little witch is."

Elena and Damon expected him to refuse Klaus the same way that he had them but Stefan nodded. "Done," he said. He had turned them off for her so he didn't see anything wrong with doing the reverse.

The only thing that gave him pause was the fact that Klaus claimed that he would feel guilty. Still, to him Bonnie's whereabouts were more important than his own hurt feelings. Closing his eyes Stefan turned his emotions back on and reluctantly let them flood back in.

It wasn't how he thought it would be. His love for Elena was still there but less in magnitude. It was different, having morphed from the romantic love bordering on obsession, to a love that was closer to friendship, a lingering fondness, nothing more. His love for his brother had not changed but his love for Bonnie had. He had cared for her before but it seemed as if the feelings he had developed for her were intertwining with the one's he had already had and they were now stronger than almost anything he had felt before.

He felt bad for hurting Elena, but worse for having put Bonnie in the position that he had put her in. He began to doubt how much of their time together was her choice and how much he had forced her into. "Where is she?" Stefan asked, opening his eyes.

It was clear to Klaus that Stefan could feel again and it was also clear that his world no longer centered on the doppelganger which was good for two reasons. The first being that Stefan wouldn't object to him harvesting young Miss Gilbert for blood, and the second being that now that Stefan could feel again and that most of his feelings were centered on the witch Klaus knew that once he told Stefan what Bonnie had agreed to the ripper would insist on accompanying the witch on her journey with him. Which meant that Klaus would get two for the price of one.

Stefan ignored both Elena and Damon looking at him as if they expected some kind of touching reunion and waited for Klaus to speak. "She's at home I do believe," Klaus said.

"How is that supposed to make me feel guilty?" Stefan asked.

"She wanted me to get you to turn your emotions back on and I did," Klaus said, "She wanted to make sure you got everything back that I took from you. Your emotion, your free will, your freedom, and so on. I agreed. You're free of me. And in exchange she generously offered up herself, which is why she's at home packing for our little trip."

Stefan shook his head, not bothering to contradict him knowing that Bonnie was selfless enough and probably felt enough misplaced guilt to do something that stupid. They were alike that way. "So where exactly are we going?" Stefan asked, after a moment.

"We?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He wasn't at all surprised by the development but it wouldn't do to show his hand. That and he had to throw Stefan a bone and make him feel as if he had the upper hand sometimes or the game would end before it started.

"Stefan," Elena cried, "What are you doing? He said, that you were free. That we could go home. I thought you had your emotions back." While she didn't exactly want Bonnie to be gallivanting around with Klaus even with her anger toward her, she had still held out hope that Stefan's emotions would make a difference and that they could try and get Bonnie out of her fix later.

"I do," Stefan said, his eyes still on Klaus, "Which is why I am going to go wherever Bonnie goes. I'm not going to let her sacrifice herself for me I lo….care about her too much. So I'm going with her. That is if it's okay with you, old friend?"

Klaus smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way, love," he said.

 **:::**

Bonnie Bennett sighed as she packed the last of her belongings that she had brought with her to her aunt's house and zipped the duffle bag on her bed. She tossed the bag aside a moment later and then sat down on the edge of her bed with a sigh.

She hadn't known what to tell her father and so Klaus had compelled him. Compelled him to forget about her until the moment that she returned home. The sad fact of the matter was that even with the compulsion things wouldn't be that different between her and her father. She rarely saw him as it was and sometimes she really did think that he forgot that she existed.

Bonnie wondered how Stefan was doing but she didn't have the nerve to call Damon and check on his progress. She was scared, scared that Stefan wouldn't want to see her, scared that he would blame her for what happened, and scared that he would want to see her and that it would all start over again in spite of her efforts to allow him to go back to whatever self that he was in control of.

The more that Bonnie thought about her situation the more hopeless it seemed. She had lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and the only thing she had gained was uncertainty, feelings of Stefan that would not likely go returned and a road trip with Klaus.

Sighing Bonnie leaned forward holding her face in her hands. She didn't look up until she heard the door to her bedroom open. Her eyes widened in surprise she watched Stefan walk inside and shut the door behind him. She decided to wait for him to speak as she didn't know what to expect.

"I thought that you would be there when I came out of it," he said, leaning against her closed door.

"You did come out of it didn't you?" Bonnie asked, "I mean my blood is out of your system isn't it?"

Stefan nodded. "And I have my emotions back," he said, "I don't feel exactly normal though. Everyone thought I would be fine again but I've never actually been fine so….But I wanted to see you, so here I am."

Bonnie stood on her feet, running her hands down the white dress that she was wearing. "You wanted to see me to what?" Bonnie asked, "Say goodbye? Say thanks for being your blood bag? Apologize?"

Stefan studied her a moment with a frown. "Do you want me to apologize?" He asked.

Bonnie looked away, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Actually," she said, "I'd rather you not. Unless you feel some kind of remorse or…."  
"Regret?" Stefan questioned, "No. At least not in the way that you are probably thinking. I didn't want to get you involved. That's why I tried so hard to fight this from the beginning. I wanted to protect you from this, from me. But I'm glad that I wasn't able to."

"Why is that?" Bonnie asked, frowning slightly.

"Because," Stefan said, "If I had been able to fight this before then I would have never had the nerve to take what I really wanted. I want you, not your blood, just you. Not just now, but a part of me wanted you before this happened. That's why I am not going to let you just hand yourself over to Klaus for me. And before you ask, I'm not here out of guilt or obligation because of that. If you want to run away with Klaus that's fine but I'm coming with you. I want to make sure that he doesn't touch you. I don't want anyone touching you but me."

Bonnie blinked at him not sure what to make of his words. "Are you sure that you're cured?" She asked.

"I'm sure," Stefan nodded.

"And you still want me," Bonnie said, "Not anyone else and for no other reason than that you want me."

"Not anyone else," Stefan said, "And for no other reason. But this time….I want this to be your choice. Not because you want to help me or save me or because you think I'll go off the deep end. I can exist without you Bonnie, I would just rather not so….if you want me for no other reason than that you want me then I'm here."

Bonnie hesitated only a moment before she walked up to Stefan and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I didn't think that this would still be what you would want once this was over," she whispered.

"And you signed yourself over to Klaus anyway?" Stefan asked.

"I wanted you to be okay," Bonnie answered with a shrug, "Even if I lost you in the process."

"That's why it's you," Stefan said seriously, "You're the only person I know that would put my wellbeing before their own. You're not selfish with me and I'm not going to be selfish with you. I don't know what this is or how long it'll last but I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

Bonnie looked away from him unable to hold his gaze. "It's hard to believe that you're back and you can feel and you're Stefan again and yet…you're saying these things to me of all people," she said, laughing a little.

"I told Klaus that I wasn't going to let him take you without taking me too. So whatever Klaus wants, we're dealing with it together. I suggest you get used to me wanting you and being with you because it isn't going to end any time soon," Stefan said, registering her shock, before he leaned down to kiss her.

Pulling away slightly to look at her, Stefan searched for reassurance. Something that told him that this was really what she wanted. That she wasn't been just martyring herself out to him and that she believe him when he said that he wanted her and only her. One look into her eyes and he had his answer. Bonnie stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his again and Stefan welcomed it, allowing her to take control of this kiss.

His left hand continued to explore her back. His other hand resting on the back of her neck. He scented her blood and felt the familiar thirst take hold but he managed to tamper it down as he pulled her closer to him.

Bonnie's hands found their way beneath Stefan's shirt, running down his chest and then around toward his back. She pulled away from the kiss long enough to pull his shirt over his head and let it slip between her fingers, falling to her carpeted floor.

His lips found hers and his tongue swept into her mouth. As their tongues moved together Stefan backed Bonnie toward her bed, his hands moving to grip her waist. Bonnie pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "This isn't about pressure points is it?" Bonnie asked, "Because I kind of just want to have sex."

"Definitely not just about pressure points," he said, "Though they still might come in handy." Stefan lifted Bonnie up from the ground and then sat her down in the middle of the bed. Stefan loomed over her, gripping her shoulders and pushing gently, laying her on her back. His lips covered hers once more as he kicked off his shoes and climbed further up the bed. Never breaking the kiss, Stefan positioned himself on top of Bonnie, making sure not to crush her tiny body with his, while her hands explored his exposed body.

Spreading out her fingers, Bonnie ran her hands from his shoulders down his back and then across his chest. She seemed slightly hesitant, almost as if she was asking permission. Stefan's own touches were bolder, his hands sliding up her legs as he pushed her dress upward until it bunched up at her waist. He parted her legs with his knee, settling himself in between them as his lips left hers and moved down to her neck.

He began to grind down against her as his lips found hers again. She lifted hips up to meet his and Stefan smiled into her mouth, noting her hesitance had gone. He smirked as she whined when he stopped his movements.

His hands found their way beneath Bonnie's dress once more as he pulled away from her lips and placed a kiss on her forehead. Gripping the soft lace of her panties he slid them downward, over her thighs and down her legs. He tossed them aside once he had removed them and moved to hover over her once more, one hand moving beneath her dress again, the other gripping the back of her neck to tilt her head upward.

"Open your legs," he whispered against her lips, and her thighs parted for him immediately.

Her mouth was soft beneath his as he kissed her. His tongue licked gently at her bottom lip as he kissed her slowly. Her mouth opened below him, silently asking him to deepen the kiss and so he did, his tongue touching hers stroking softly.

Bonnie lifted her hips and Stefan's hand reached between her legs. He swallowed her moan as shocks of pleasure shot through her as Stefan's fingers plunged into her warmth and slid over her clit, fingering her with adept skill.

Her head lifted from her bed, her mouth breaking from his as she gasped, her hips eagerly rolling against his hand. Stefan took it all in. The quickening of her pulse. The thudding of her heart. The whispering of his name as his fingers dive in deeper. The pulsing of her blood through her veins. He wanted to bite her, to taste her, but settled instead for kissing her neck, and sucking on her pulse point until he leaves a bruise.

Her hands gripped his shoulders as the movement of her hips stuttered. He knew that she was close. Still he pulled his fingers out of her, causing her to whimper in protest. "Please, Stefan," she said, her eyes meeting his, pupils dilated, irises a darkened to a forest green.

"I don't need you to beg," Stefan told, as his hands gripped the hem of her dress and pulled it upward, "I just need you to be patient. I know what you want, and you'll get it. All of it."

Bonnie nodded, allowing him to pull the dress over his head. Her bra followed. His gaze was hungry as he took her in. It was similar to the way that he looked when he fed, but this time it wasn't her blood that he wanted, not entirely, not this time.

Bonnie laid down on her back and waited. She supposed that she would feel vulnerable were it not for the fact that they had already seen each other at their most vulnerable. Were it not for the fact that she had already given up everything for him and there was a chance that this would be their only night together. She knew that Stefan was determined to go with her, but there was a chance that Klaus would decide that he only wanted her and then where would they be.

Bonnie watched as Stefan removed the rest of his clothes, her thoughts leaving Klaus and suddenly focused on him. Her eyes lingered on his erection and she realized that she didn't have any reason to question whether or not he wanted her as the fact was glaringly clear. She looked away as he caught her looking, a blush tinting her cheeks.

She felt the bed give as he joined her once more. Her eyes closed as he kissed her neck, then her shoulders, and then the tops of her breast. His hands touched her waist and her body jerked slightly, the arousal making her skin sensitive.

Stefan's hands were gentle as he held her hips still, and his mouth moved downward. He kissed each nipple, before he trailed kisses down her stomach. His mouth was open and hot. She squirmed and shifted on the bed even as he held down. One hand moved to part her legs before bending them at the knees.

"Bonnie," Stefan said, as his eyes lifted to meet hers so that he could insure that he had her attention.

Bonnie's eyes had been closed as she had focused intently on the feel of his lips and his hands, but they opened at the sound of his voice. "Yes?" She asked, her voice sounded low and unfamiliar to her own ears.

"I want you to watch me," he said, "Don't look away." His intent was clear but he knew that given her inexperience it would be hard for her to keep her eyes on him, knowing what he was about do. He watched as she licked her lips and looked off to the side. Stefan gripped the inside of thighs, squeezing slightly in order to regain her attention. "Bonnie," he pressed.

Bonnie nodded, biting her bottom lip, as her met his again. The anticipation and the throbbing between her legs keeping her from denying him.

Bonnie held her breath and then watched as Stefan leaned forward, his hands gripping her thighs as he pressed his mouth to her sex. Bonnie was preoccupied with his dark hair, her small hand reaching in between her thighs to bury her fingers in his hair that was slightly dampened with sweat. Bonnie fought the urge to close her eyes as Stefan found her clit, lapping the small nub with his skilful tongue. At first his strokes are slow and Bonnie managed to keep her eyelids partially open, even as she heard herself gasp. Her eyes shut as his strokes became harder, faster.

Her eyes closed and she cried out. He pulled back abruptly and her gripped tightened on his hair. "Open your eyes," he whispered, his lips brushing against her oversensitive flesh.

Bonnie opened her eyes and let out a whine.

"Keep them open," he instructed. He doesn't wait for her to agree as lowered his head again just enough for him to be able to watch her as she watched him, this time dipping his tongue deep inside, his mouth pressed firmly against her.

One hand moved from her thigh as he found the pressure point just below her navel. He applied pressure to the spot with his fingers, his eyes closed with anticipation. Her orgasm came fast and hard, ripping through her body violently, causing her hips to jerk upward in spite of his grip. His hands hold her thighs tightly, almost painfully, his mouth devouring her juices as she comes with the same eagerness that he had once lapped up her blood with. Her mouth opened in a scream, her body trembling as she shut her eyes tight.

Her throat felt raw as the shudders began to subside and she leaned backwards. She breathed quick and shallow as Stefan rose until they were once again eye level. He kissed her shoulder, then her neck. "You okay," his voice said into her ear.

Bonnie nodded, slowly as she came back to herself. "I'm perfect," she whispered. She lifted her hand slowly and traced his jawline with her finger. "Do I taste as good as my blood?" She asked, her eyes dancing with mischief.

"Better," Stefan answered, before he leaned down and kissed her allowing her to taste herself on his tongue.

Bonnie felt his erection pressing against her stomach as Stefan pinned her to the bed. Stefan captured Bonnie's hands with his own and brought it back down to the bed, weaving their fingers together. Her mouth opened under his welcoming, their tongues meeting in a slippery clash of warmth. Stefan could feel the familiar flush arousal, though this felt much more real than anything that he had ever experienced with anyone else. He could feel the desire mirrored in Bonnie, in the curve of her spine and the desperate thrust of her tongue.

Slim legs wrapped around his waist, the friction that the movement caused making him moan. Stefan couldn't stop himself from thrusting down against Bonnie, any reservations he might've had obliterated as flashes of awareness spread from his groin throughout his body. He pulled away from her mouth breathing heavily as he buried his face in Bonnie's neck, kissing and panting. A vein pulsed beneath his lips and he felt the beginnings of the thirst take hold. "I want you so much," he said, talking of both her body and her blood.

"You can have me," Bonnie said. Stefan raised an eyebrow as suddenly he was being flipped on the bed and Bonnie was on top of him. "But I still don't trust you around my neck when your eyes are that hungry," she told him.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" He asked.

"I never said I've never done this before," Bonnie teased, knowing that she would provoke him, "You simply assumed." Stefan growled, his eyes promising murder. She smiled at him through the mess of her hair, skin flushed with life and want and eagerness. Stefan started to speak as she crawled over him, straddling his hips, but lost the words as she slowly lowered herself on to his erection. She guided him inside of her carefully, her discomfort only clear for a moment before he subsided. She was so warm and so tight and he could feel it all the way to his toes and the base of his skull.

Bonnie was still her eyes closed and her hands on his chest as he looked up at her. "Not until you're ready," he said, as his hands gripped her hips.

Bonnie nodded as she waited for her body to adjust to the intrusion. After a moment she slowly lifted her hips and Stefan heard her gasp, as she rose up and then back down again.

When her movements above him became surer Stefan began to move his own hips beneath her, pushing up to match her rhythm. "You're mine," he said, "Say it." He needed to own all of her, being free of her blood didn't change that.

"I'm yours." She said, eyes full of promise and Stefan couldn't think straight as he moaned and pushed up into her. "But you're mine too," she sighed, and Stefan could tell as she pushed down onto him that she had finally managed to aim for the right spot. "Mmmm," Bonnie cried out, the sound inaudible as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

Stefan held fast, one hand sliding up Bonnie's back. He cupped her shoulder blades, eyes meeting hers and holding.

Their rhythm was neither fast nor slow, the pleasure building steady and sure. Both wanted to hold on as long as possible but Stefan knew from the feel of her body clenching around him that Bonnie would soon come undone.

"You're right," Stefan panted, between thrust, "I'm yours, too." All at once Bonnie was shuddering apart above him, thrashing on top of him and he knew that his words had done it.

Still she kept moving, drawing it out, even as her body shook and the hands that clung to him trembled.

Stefan watched her, and felt himself coming undone as well, Bonnie collapsed on top of him wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed kisses against his throat. "I don't ever want this with anyone else." she said.

"I love you," Stefan said, running his fingers through her hair. He was still a little crazed and not fully recovered but he found that he meant it.

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," Bonnie said, resting her head on his shoulder, "This is enough."

"I do," Stefan said, "You don't have to believe me right now. Just know that I'm not going to let anyone ever take you away from me."

Bonnie pulled back so that she could see his face. "Are you sure my blood is out of your system?" she asked, only half joking.

"The blood is gone," he said, "But you… _you_ stayed."

 **:::**

Klaus looked up from where he was leaning against his black SUV just as Stefan and Bonnie walked toward him. He had sent his sister back to Mystic Falls with the eldest Salvatore and the doppelganger to make sure that Elena didn't get herself killed before he harvested enough blood to make his army.

He eyed both Stefan and Bonnie as they approached, neither looked particularly happy with the situation but he didn't care about their happiness not really.

When they stopped in front of him, he opened the door to the back seat. Stefan took Bonnie's bag and his own and tossed them in the back of the SUV. Bonnie moved to climb in as well but Klaus shut the door before Stefan could help her inside.

Bonnie glared at him. "Where am I supposed to sit?" Bonnie asked.

Klaus opened the door to the front on the passenger's side. "In the middle, love," he said, gesturing his head toward the front bench seat, "That's the position you like to be in now right? In the middle of things?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at him but allowed Stefan to help her inside of the car. Stefan moved to follow and Klaus grabbed his arm. "What?" Stefan asked, turning his glare on him as well. He had tried in the last few days to find a way out of this deal with Klaus but he hadn't been able to manage it and neither he nor Bonnie would let the other go alone so this was their fate.

Klaus leaned down and whispered into Stefan's ear. "Don't look so glum, old friend," he said, "We're going to have fun the three of us. It'll be even better than old times."

Ignoring him Stefan entered the car and Klaus closed the door behind him. Once Stefan settled into his seat, he took Bonnie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We'll get through it," he said.

Bonnie nodded, just as Klaus got in the driver's side. She gave Klaus a sideways glance as he started the car.

"As far as threesomes go," Klaus said, "I like the looks of this one."

Bonnie held tighter to Stefan's hand as Klaus put the car in drive. Perhaps Stefan was right, and they would get through this, but Bonnie was certain that even if they did they wouldn't come out the same people on the other side, if they came out at all.  
 _ **End Notes: Sorry for any mistakes that are still present after the edit. Other fics are being edited and will be reposted as I have the time. Thanks to those one tumblr and here who have stuck it out with me through some very dark times.**_


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